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THE  CASE 
FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

BY 

MAXIMO  M.  KALAW 


WITH  INTRODUCTION  BY 
MANUEL    L.    QUEZON 

KESIOENT  COMMISSIONER  FROM  THE  PBILIPFIirU 


NEW  YORK 

THE  CENTURY  CO. 

1916 


Copyright,  1916,  by 
The  Century  Co. 

Published,  May,  1916 


DS 


TO 

MY  COMRADES,  THE  RISING  GENERATION  OF  FILIPINOS, 

WHO,  THOUGH  BENEFICIARIES  OF  AN  ALIEN 

GOVERNMENT,  HAVE  NOBLY  KEPT 

FAITH    WITH    THEIR 

FOREFATHERS. 


825844 


INTRODUCTION 

For  more  than  one  reason  this  book  should  be 
read  by  those  who  are  interested  in  Philippine  af- 
fairs. It  accurately  presents  the  different  stages 
through  which  American  public  opinion  on  the  so- 
called  Philippine  question  has  passed.  It  is  more- 
over the  first  attempt  of  a  young  Filipino  educated 
in  American  schools  to  write  in  the  English  lan- 
guage. Most  important  of  all,  it  echoes  the  voice 
of  a  generation  of  Filipinos  that  has  grown  to  ma- 
turity during  the  period  of  American  sovereignty 
over  the  Islands. 

Mr.  Kalaw  fairly  represents  the  generation  of 
Filipinos  that  is  about  to  become  an  important 
factor  in  shaping  the  future  of  the  archipelago. 
He,  like  other  millions  of  boys  who  were  of  school 
age  when  the  American  flag  became  the  symbol  of 
sovereignty  in  the  Philippines,  has  been  educated 
in  public  schools  taught  by  American  teachers  who 
have  endeavored  to  instil  into  the  mind  of  their 
pupils  the  belief  that  it  is  the  destiny  of  the  Filipino 
people  to  remain  forever  under  the  control  of  the 
Government  of  the  United  States  and  that  with  the 


viii  INTRODUCTION 

realization  of  this  destiny  are  bound  up  their  well- 
being,  their  prosperity,  and  their  individual  liberty. 
Up  to  the  time  that  Honorable  Francis  Burton  Har- 
rison became  Governor-General  of  the  Philippine 
Islands,  independence  was  a  forbidden  topic  in 
Philippine  public  schools.  In  dealing  with  Philip- 
pine history  American  teachers  were  particularly 
careful  to  place  emphasis  upon  the  benefits  ac- 
corded to  the  people  of  the  Islands  by  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States.  The  merits  of  the 
American  occupation  were  painted  in  the  most 
glowing  colors.  No  effort  was  spared  to  make 
American  control  appear  almost  as  a  gift  from 
heaven.  It  was  the  belief  among  those  who  were 
responsible  for  this  policy  in  the  schools  that  the 
rising  generation  of  Filipinos  would  advocate  the 
permanent  continuance  of  the  existing  political 
relationship  between  the  United  States  and  the 
Philippine  Islands. 

Mr.  Kalaw's  book  makes  it  clear  that  this  policy 
has  failed.  The  Filipino  youth  is  even  stronger  in 
its  aspiration  for  independence  than  the  generation 
that  is  passing  by.  It  is  therefore  absolutely  be- 
yond question  that  the  desire  for  national  independ- 
ence cannot  be  eradicated  from  the  hearts  of  the 
Filipino  people.  Such  being  the  case,  every  con- 
sideration of  statesmanship  goes  to  show  that  there 
is  but  one  wise  course  by  which  the  Government  of 


INTRODUCTION  ix 

the  United  States  may  govern  its  action  with  re- 
gard to  the  Philippine  Islands;  namely,  that  of 
granting  them  a  speedy  independence.  This  fol- 
lows not  only  from  the  American  principle  that 
"  just  governments  derive  their  powers  from  the 
consent  of  the  governed  "  but  also  from  the  invari- 
able lesson  of  history  that  governments  cannot  en- 
dure unless  they  are  based  upon  the  consent  of  the 
governed. 

Maximo  M.  Kalaw  was  born  at  Lipa,  Batangas 
Province,  Philippine  Islands,  in  1891.  He  at- 
tended the  public  schools  of  his  native  town,  and 
later  came  to  Manila  where  he  entered  the  Uni- 
versity of  the  Philippines.  He  is  distinctly  a  pro- 
duct of  the  American  system  of  education  estab- 
lished in  the  Islands.  In  his  second  year  at  the 
University  of  the  Philippines,  he  became  editor-in- 
chief  of  the  "  The  College  Folio  " —  the  University 
magazine.  His  management  of  this  journal  ex- 
hibited such  marked  ability  as  to  attract  attention. 
He  came  with  the  writer  to  Washington  in  1911  as 
private  secretary  and  manager  of  "The  Filipino 
People  "  devoted  to  the  cause  of  Philippine  inde- 
pendence. He  has,  therefore,  been  connected  with 
the  Philippine  independence  movement  in  the 
United  States  for  five  years.  He  was  graduated  in 
law  at  Georgetown  University  in  1914. 

In  1912  he  addressed  the  annual  session  of  the 


X  INTRODUCTION 

Lake  Mohonk  Conference  of  the  Indian  and  Other 
Dependent  Peoples,  Mohonk  Lake,  New  York,  and 
his  presentation  .of  the  cause  of  his  people  elicited 
such  favorable  attention  as  to  call  forth  favorable 
comment  even  from  the  opposition  newspapers. 
The  "  Boston  Transcript,"  one  of  the  most  persis- 
tent enemies  of  Philippine  freedom,  had  this  to 
say  of  Mr.  Kalaw's  speech : 

**  This  youth  delivered  an  oration  —  it  was  not  a 
speech  —  of  such  force  and  beauty  of  expression  as  has 
seldom  fallen  upon  the  ears  of  a  Mohonk  audience.  He 
advocated  independence  for  his  people;  he  said  they 
were  all  for  it ;  he  complimented  our  work  and  sacrifices, 
but  he  craved  that  boon  of  liberty.  At  the  conclusion 
of  his  speech  the  applause  was  long  continued.  In  con- 
trast with  the  *  set  speeches  '  of  many  American  travel- 
ers in  the  Islands  this  effort  of  the  native  orator  carried 
refreshing  frankness  and  force.  Certainly,  if  the  Is- 
lands can  furnish  such  men  to  plead  for  them,  the  day 
of  their  liberty  is  not  far  distant." 

Manuel  L.  Quezon. 
Washington,  D.  C, 
March  23, 1916. 


PEEFACE 

In  this  volume  I  have  sought  to  present  the  so- 
called  Philippine  question  as  it  appears  to  a  Fili- 
pino and  from  an  angle  rather  different  from  that 
at  which  other  books  on  the  subject  have  regarded 
it.  The  ordinary  course  taken  in  the  discussion 
of  the  Philippine  problem  is  this :  If  the  writer  be 
an  advocate  of  Philippine  retention,  after  hastily 
disposing,  in  his  first  few  pages,  of  Philippine  ac- 
quisition as  an  inevitable  God-sent  incident  of  the 
Spanish-American  War,  he  usually  devotes  the  rest 
of  his  work  to  an  exhaustive  discussion  of  American 
achievements  in  the  Islands,  the  improvements  in 
education,  roads,  and  public  buildings,  the  exten- 
sion of  sanitary  measures,  and  the  fostering  of  com- 
merce and  industry ;  belittling,  ignoring,  or  denying 
the  cooperation  given  by  the  Filipinos  in  accom- 
plishing these  results ;  often  depicting  them  in  the 
darkest  colors,  if  not,  indeed,  flagrantly  misrepre- 
senting them,  ridiculing  their  characteristics,  ex- 
ploiting their  supposed  ignorance,  and  exaggerat- 
ing, if  not  entirely  creating  new,  native  vices  and 

shortcomings.     He,  too,  often  takes  the  greatest 

zl 


xii  PKEFACE 

pains  to  expose  the  mistakes  of  some  locality  or  the 
crimes  of  some  individual,  and,  by  adroit  innuen- 
does, indicates  them  as  the  prevailing  tendencies 
of  the  Filipinos.  Nothing  in  such  volumes  is 
spared  to  prejudice  the  American  people  against 
the  Filipinos,  so  that  he  may  close  the  volume  with 
the  conclusion  that  American  domination  must  con- 
tinue indefinitely  and  that  Philippine  independence, 
if  any  such  thing  ever  be  possible,  is  yet  a  long 
way  off.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the  writer  be  an 
advocate  of  independence,  he  takes  the  opposite 
view,  and  after  making  a  much  more  appreciative 
study  of  the  Philippine  Government,  established  at 
Malolos,  he  enumerates  in  detail  the  unmistakable 
signs  of  capacity  manifested  by  the  Filipinos  dur- 
ing American  occupation,  and  then  urges  the  grant- 
ing of  independence  without  any  further  delay. 
This  discussion  has  been  going  on  for  well-nigh 
seventeen  years,  volumes  enough  to  fill  a  library 
have  already  been  written  on  the  subject,  and  yet 
through  this  very  confusion  of  authorities  the 
American  people  are  perhaps  more  hazy  now  as  to 
Philippine  conditions  than  ever  before. 

It  is  not,  however,  necessary  for  the  American 
nation  to  know  —  and  she  can  never  thoroughly 
know  —  the  minute  details  of  Philippine  conditions, 
in  order  to  be  able  to  settle,  once  and  for  all,  the 
Philippine  question.     She  did  not  have  to  know 


PEEFACE  xiii 

the  characteristics  and  the  skulls  of  the  people  of 
Santiago  de  Cuba,  or  whether  the  city  of  Havana 
could  honestly  use  the  Australian  ballot,  before  she 
declared  that  Cuba  should  be  free  and  independent. 
It  was  enough  to  realize  that  an  entire  people  were 
desperately  fighting  for  liberty  and  that  for  that 
cause  thousands  were  starving  in  reconcentrado 
camps.  Without  stopping  to  learn  the  racial  dif- 
ferences separating  the  inhabitants  of  the  Island  or 
the  great  ignorance  of  the  masses  —  much  greater 
than  in  the  Philippines  —  and  even  before  they  had 
been  rescued  from  tyranny,  the  principle  to  be 
adopted  toward  that  people  had  been  proclaimed  to 
the  world  —  that  they  were  and  of  right  ought  to 
be  free  and  independent. 

One  fact  must  be  conceded  in  studying  the  Phil- 
ippine question :  the  Filipinos  are  a  people,  like  the 
Cubans  or  the  Irish  or  the  French  —  a  distinct  po- 
litical entity,  with  a  consciousness  of  kind  and  with 
national  feelings  and  aspirations,  no  matter  how 
poorly  developed  they  may  be  in  some  directions. 
Once  this  fact  is  conceded,  the  real  issue  to  be  dealt 
with  then  becomes  not  the  success  or  failure  of 
American  experiments  in  the  Islands  or  the  fitness 
or  unfitness  of  the  Filipinos  to  establish  American 
institutions,  but  the  relations  that  should  exist  be- 
tween the  American  people  and  the  Filipino  people. 
What  is  the  present  political  status  of  the  Philip- 


xiy  PREFACE 

pines?  How  did  they  come  to  be  under  American 
rule?  What  do  they  now  ask  of  America?  Can  it 
be  granted  without  impairing  American  interests 
in  the  Islands? 

It  is  the  purpose  of  the  present  volume  to  review 
American  relations  with  the  Filipino  people  —  the 
acquisition  of  the  Philippines  by  America,  the  mo- 
tives underlying  that  acquisition,  the  frame  of  mind 
of  the  American  people  at  the  time,  the  vain  pro- 
tests of  the  Filipinos  against  their  forcible  subjec- 
tion, the  refusal  of  the  American  Congress  to  make 
a  declaration  of  its  purpose  towards  them,  the  pub- 
licity campaign  carried  on  by  the  advocates  of  re- 
tention, the  appeals  of  the  Filipino  people,  and  the 
factors  that  have  brought  about  the  recent  legisla- 
tive attempt  to  liberate  the  Islands.  The  passage 
in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  of  a  bill  granting 
independence  to  the  Philippines  within  four  years 
closes  a  very  interesting  chapter  in  the  history  of 
Filipino-American  relations. 

This  book,  however,  is  not  intended  solely  for 
Americans.  It  is  hoped  that  through  this  volume 
the  Filipino  people  may  have  a  glimpse  of  the  drama 
of  their  national  future  as  it  is  staged  in  America 
—  the  attitude  of  the  American  people  toward 
them,  the  continuous  struggle  for  their  rights  as  a 
people,  the  efforts  of  many  Americans  in  behalf  of 
their  cause,  the  work  done  by  the  deadly  foes  of 


PREFACE  XV 

their  national  freedom,  and  the  concessions  that  are 
being  made  to  the  Filipinos  themselves.  Such 
knowledge  is  necessary  not  only  because  it  is  a  part 
of  their  history  as  a  nation,  but  also  because  it  is  in- 
dispensable to  them  in  their  present  task  of  devel- 
oping their  country  and  preparing  it  for  the  ever- 
widening  opportunities  of  the  future. 

M.  M.  K. 


CONTENTS 

PAGH 

Introduction  by  Hon.  Manuel  L.  Quezon  .     .     .     vii 
Preface xi 

CHAPTER 

I  The  Birth  of  the  Cuban  Republic  ...  3 

II  The  Acquisition  op  the  Philippines      .     .  18 

III  Refusals  TO  Disclose  America's  Purpose  .  42 

IV  The  Protest  of  the  Filipinos      ....  61 
V  President  McKinley  's  Instructions      .     .  82 

YI  Imperialism  AS  the  "Paramount  Issue"     .     98 

VII  The  Struggle  over  a  Legislative  Assembly  119 

VIII  Publicity  Campaign  of  the  Retentionists  147 

IX  The  Voice  of  the  Filipino  People    .     .     .  174 

X  The  Jones  Philippine  Bill    .     .     .     .     .  204 

XI  The  Clarke  Amendment 219 

Appendices 

A.  Treaty  of  Peace  between  the  United  States 

and  Spain 249 

B.  President  McKinley 's  Instructions  to  the  Taft 

Commission 260 

C.  Organic  Act  of  the  Philippine  Islands      .     .  272 

D.  Utterances    of    Republican    Presidents    and 

Covernors-General  on  the  Philippines  .      .  322 

E.  Democratic  Platforms  on  the  Philippines      .  337 

F.  President  Wilson's  Position  on  the  Philip- 

pines       340 

G.  Resolution  of  the  Philippine  Assembly     .     .  348 

Index 355 

xvii 


THE  CASE 
FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 


THE  CASE  FOR  THE 
FILIPINOS 

CHAPTER  I 

THE  BIRTH   OF  THE  CUBAN  REPUBLIC 

AS  si  result  of  the  Spanish-American  War,  the 
American  nation  became  the  arbiter  of  the 
destinies  of  the  Cubans  and  the  Filipinos.  It  was 
the  first  time  that  the  United  States  had  had  to  de- 
cide the  fate  of  two  alien  peoples,  constituting  dis- 
tinct political  entities,  possessing  a  civilization 
different  from  her  own  as  well  as  independent  char- 
acteristics, and  aspiring  to  be,  not  members  of  the 
American  Union,  but  self-governing  and  inde- 
pendent nations. 

Cuba  is  no  longer  a  problem  for  the  United 
States.  She  has  attained,  through  the  magnanim- 
ity of  the  American  people,  that  for  which  she 
long  fought  —  national  independence.  The  Phil- 
ippines still  remain  a  problem.  They  are  not  yet 
independent.     From  the  very  beginning  of  the  dis- 


4  THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

cussion  of  the  Philippine  problem  people  have  ques- 
tioned why  there  should  be  such  a  difference  be- 
tween the  fate  of  the  Cubans  and  that  of  the 
Filipinos,  and  why  there  is  already  a  Cuban  re- 
public while  the  Philippines  still  remain  under 
American  sovereignty.  To  understand,  therefore, 
the  whole  Philippine  question,  and  to  comprehend 
the  past  and  present  attitude  of  the  American  peo- 
ple toward  the  Philippines,  some  knowledge  of 
Cuban-American  relations  is  indispensable.  The 
American  flag,  moreover,  could  not  have  reached 
the  shores  of  the  Philippines  had  it  not  been  for  the 
struggles  of  the  Cuban  people  against  Spain. 

For  many  years  before  the  Spanish-American 
War  broke  out,  the  American  people  had  been  in 
sympathy  with  Cuban  aspirations  for  independence. 
They  extended  both  moral  and  material  help  to 
their  struggling  neighbors.  Revolutionary  prepa- 
rations were  made  on  American  soil,  supplies  and 
munitions  were  shipped  from  American  cities,  and 
expeditions  were  fitted  out  in  American  ports. 
This  attitude  of  the  American  nation  was  so  mani- 
fest to  the  world  that  Spain  time  and  again  pro- 
tested against  alleged  violations  of  the  neutrality 
laws  of  the  United  States.  In  1896,  General  Wey- 
ler  began  his  infamous  reconcentration  system  in 
Cuba,  and  destruction  of  life  and  property  became 
daily  more  and  more  alarming.    American  public 


BIRTH  OF  THE  CUBAN  REPUBLIC       5 

opinion  in  favor  of  Cuba's  freedom  was  constantly 
growing,  and  on  April  6,  1896,  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States,  by  a  large  majority,  passed  a  joint 
resolution  recognizing  the  belligerency  of  the  Cu- 
ban insurgents.  President  Cleveland,  however,  ig- 
nored this  resolution  completely,  preferring  to  file 
his  protest  against  the  atrocities*  in  Cuba  through 
diplomatic  correspondence.  President  McKinley, 
upon  his  assumption  of  office,  renewed  the  protest 
of  his  predecessor  through  the  same  channel;  but 
the  only  answer  he  received  from  Spain  was  that  if 
the  United  States  would  enforce  the  neutrality  laws 
with  greater  vigor,  peace  would  be  soon  restored  in 
Cuba.  A  temporizing  policy  was  characteristic  of 
the  Spanish  Government  and  the  President  soon 
became  convinced  of  the  fruitlessness  of  his  diplo- 
matic endeavors.  In  his  first  annual  message 
President  McKinley  suggested  the  possibility  of  in- 
tervention; but,  a  new  Spanish  ministry  having 
come  into  power  under  the  leadership  of  Sagasta, 
he  advocated  the  continuation  of  a  policy  of 
"  watchful  waiting  "  to  see  what  the  new  Spanish 
administration  would  do.  Sagasta  did  promise  au- 
tonomy for  Cuba,  recalled  Weyler,  and  proposed 
a  modification  of  the  reconcentration  system.  But 
the  reform  came  too  late.  The  Cuban  people  were 
tired  of  promises.  The  American  people  were  de- 
manding the  recognition  of  Cuban  independence. 


6         THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

The  atrocities  of  the  Weyler  system  were  con- 
stantly exposed  in  American  newspapers.  Scenes 
of  death,  devastation,  and  misery  were  pictured  to 
the  American  people.  Senator  Proctor  of  Vermont 
during  this  troublous  time  made  a  special  trip  to 
the  war-ridden  island  of  Cuba,  and  his  report  on 
the  conditions  he  there  found  intensified  Amer- 
ican feeling  for  intervention.  Outside  of  Havana, 
he  said,  there  was  neither  peace  nor  war,  but  "  deso- 
lation and  distress,  misery  and  starvation."  "  Con- 
ditions are  unmentionable  in  this  respect,"  he  con- 
tinued. "  Torn  from  their  homes,  with  foul  earth, 
foul  air,  foul  water,  and  foul  food  or  none,  what 
wonder  that  one  half  have  died  and  that  one  quar- 
ter of  the  living  are  so  diseased  that  they  cannot 
be  saved?"  His  speech,  free  from  any  jingoistic 
or  sensational  taint,  created  a  profound  sensation 
throughout  the  country. 

Two  later  incidents  hastened  American  interven- 
tion. One  was  the  discovery  and  publication  of  a 
letter  sent  home  by  the  Spanish  minister  in  which 
he  described  the  President  as  a  kid-glove  politician, 
a  mere  "  bidder  for  the  admiration  of  the  crowd." 
For  this  indiscretion  he  was  promptly  recalled. 
Hardly  had  the  excitement  due  to  this  diplomatic 
blunder  subsided  when  the  battleship  Maine  was 
mysteriously  blown  up  in  the  harbor  of  Havana. 
Upon  the  report  of  the  Investigation  Committee 


BIRTH  OF  THE  CUBAN  REPUBLIC       7 

that  the  destruction  was  caused  by  a  mine,  the 
American  people  could  restrain  their  war  spirit  no 
longer  and,  with  the  cry  of  "  Remember  the  Maine," 
they  pressed  upon  Congress  insistent  demands  for 
intervention.  Finally,  after  further  temporizing 
by  the  Spanish  Government,  the  President  was 
forced  on  April  11,  1898,  to  send  a  message,  point- 
ing out  that  forcible  intervention  offered  the  only 
feasible  solution  of  the  situation.  He  laid  bare  to 
Congress  the  unspeakable  situation  of  the  Cubans, 
their  misery  and  starvation,  conditions  which 
"  shocked  the  sensibilities  and  offended  the  humane 
sympathies  "  of  the  American  people. 

"  Our  people,"  he  said,  "  have  beheld  a  once-pros- 
perous community  reduced  to  comparative  want, 
its  lucrative  commerce  virtually  paralyzed,  its  ex- 
ceptional productiveness  diminished,  its  fields  laid 
waste,  its  mills  in  ruins,  and  its  people  perishing 
by  tens  of  thousands  from  hunger  and  destitution. 
We  have  found  ourselves  constrained,  in  the  ob- 
servance of  that  strict  neutrality  which  our  laws 
enjoin,  and  which  the  law  of  nations  commands,  to 
police  our  own  waters  and  watch  our  own  seaports 
in  prevention  of  any  unlawful  act  in  aid  of  the 
Cubans.  .  .  ."  "  The  only  peace  that  condition 
would  beget,"  he  continued,  "  was  that  of  the  wil- 
derness and  the  grave."  He  disclaimed  any  inten- 
tion of  self-aggrandizement  and  upheld  the  humani- 


8         THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

tarian  motive  of  his  suggestion  for  intervention 
when  he  uttered  the  well-known  phrase  that  "  for- 
cible annexation,  according  to  American  code  of 
morals,  would  be  criminal  aggression." 

Nine  days  after  the  reading  of  the  message,  the 
fateful  Teller  resolution  was  passed  by  Congress 
and  war  was  practically  declared.  The  resolution 
is  as  follows : 

Whereas,  the  abhorrent  conditions  which  have  existed 
for  more  than  three  years  in  the  island  of  Cuba,  so 
near  our  own  borders,  have  shocked  the  moral  sense  of 
the  people  of  the  United  States,  have  been  a  disgrace 
to  Christian  civilization,  culminating  as  they  have,  in 
the  destruction  of  a  United  States  battle-ship  with  two 
hundred  and  sixty  six  of  its  ofificers  and  crew,  while 
on  a  friendly  visit  in  the  harbor  of  Habana,  and  can 
no  longer  be  endured,  as  has  been  set  forth  by  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  in  his  message  to  Congress  of 
April  eleventh,  eighteen  hundred  and  ninety  eight,  upon 
which  the  action  of  Congress  was  invited :     Therefore, 

Resolved,  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives 
of  the  United  States  of  America,  in  Congress  assembled : 
First.  That  the  people  of  the  island  of  Cuba  are,  and 
of  right  ought  to  be,  free  and  independent. 

Second.  That  it  is  the  duty  of  the  United  States  to 
demand,  and  the  Government  of  the  United  States  does 
hereby  demand,  that  the  Government  of  Spain  at  once 
relinquish  its  authority  and  government  in  the  island  of 
Cuba  and  withdraw  its  land  and  naval  forces  from  Cuba 
and  Cuban  waters. 

Third.    That  the  President  of  the  United  States  be, 


BIRTH  OF  THE  CUBAN  REPUBLIC        9 

and  he  hereby  is,  directed  and  empowered  to  use  the 
entire  land  and  naval  forces  of  the  United  States,  and 
to  call  into  the  actual  service  of  the  United  States  the 
militia  of  the  several  States,  to  such  extent  as  may  be 
necessary  to  carry  these  resolutions  into  effect. 

Fourth.  That  the  United  States  hereby  disclaims  any 
disposition  or  intention  to  exercise  sovereignty,  jurisdic- 
tion, or  control  over  said  island  except  for  the  pacifica- 
tion thereof,  and  asserts  its  determination,  when  that  is 
accomplished,  to  leave  the  government  and  control  of  the 
Island  to  its  people. 

Never  perhaps  was  a  war  started  with  a  more 
lofty  or  humane  purpose.  It  was  the  product  of  a 
people's  righteous  indignation  against  shocking 
barbarities.  Senator  Hoar  of  Massachusetts  phil- 
osophically pictured  America's  position  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  war  in  the  following  language : 

If  there  have  been  any  hasty  or  unwise  utterances 
of  impatience  in  such  a  cause  as  that,  and  I  think  there 
have  been,  they  have  been  honest,  brave,  humane  utter- 
ances. But  when  I  enter  upon  this  war,  I  want  to  enter 
upon  it  with  a  united  American  people  —  President  and 
Senate  and  House,  and  array  and  navy,  and  Democrat 
and  Republican  —  all  joining  hands  and  all  marching 
one  way.  I  want  to  enter  upon  it  with  the  sanction  of 
international  law,  with  the  sympathy  of  all  humane  and 
liberty -loving  nations,  with  the  approval  of  our  own  con- 
sciences and  with  a  certainty  of  the  applauding  judg- 
ment of  history. 

I  confess  I  do  not  like  to  think  of  the  genius  of  Amer- 
ica, angry,  snarling,  shouting,  screaming,  kicking,  claw- 


10       THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

ing  with  hand-nails.  I  like  rather  to  think  of  her  august 
and  serene  beauty,  inspired  by  a  sentiment  even  toward 
her  enemies,  not  of  hate,  but  of  love,  perhaps  a  little  pale 
in  the  cheek  and  a  dangerous  light  in  her  eye,  but  with  a 
smile  on  her  lips  as  sure,  determined,  unerring,  invinci- 
ble as  was  the  archangel  Michael  when  he  struck  down 
and  trampled  upon  the  Demon  of  Darkness. 

The  outcome  of  the  war  every  one  knows.  The 
United  States  came  into  complete  control  of  the 
Island,  and,  by  the  treaty  of  Paris,  Spain  agreed 
to  relinquish  "  all  claims  of  sovereignty  over,  and 
title  to,  Cuba." 

The  Spanish  troops  soon  evacuated  the  Island 
and  left  it  to  the  military  authorities  of  the  United 
States.  America  was  now  ready  to  redeem  her 
pledge  to  the  Cuban  people.  Yet  in  spite  of  the  al- 
most sacred  character  of  America's  duty  to  recog- 
nize Cuban  independence,  a  campaign  for  the  re- 
tention of  that  island  began.  "  There  has  been  no 
lack  of  counselors,"  said  Senator  Hoar,  "  to  whisper 
in  the  ear  of  the  President  and  Senate  and  House 
the  dishonorable  counsel  that  we  should  hold  on  to 
Cuba,  without  regard  to  our  pledges  or  our  prin- 
ciples, and  that  the  resolution  of  the  Senator  from 
Colorado  (Mr.  Teller)  was  a  great  mistake." 

Happily  the  movement  for  the  retention  of  Cuba 
did  not  prosper  and  as  soon  as  the  Spaniards  had 
evacuated  the  Island,  early  in  1899,  work  for  the 
establishment  of  a  stable  government  preparatory 


BIRTH  OF  THE  CUBAN  KEPUBLIC     11 

to  its  transfer  to  the  Cuban  people  was  begun. 
This  work  was  entrusted  to  Gen.  Leonard  Wood, 
who  was  appointed  military  governor  of  the  Island. 

The  first  step  was  a  census,  to  ascertain  the  popu- 
lation and  the  number  of  possible  voters.  It  was 
ascertained  that  66  per  cent,  of  the  inhabitants 
could  neither  read  nor  write,  so  that  unrestricted 
suffrage  was  out  of  the  question,  and  it  was  deter- 
mined that  a  voter  must  have  either  property  quali- 
fication or  literary  qualification,  or  must  have  be- 
longed to  the  army,  having  thus  shown  his  "pa- 
triotism to  fight  for  his  country."  On  June  16, 
1900,  a  general  election  of  municipal  officers  was 
held.  Then,  with  municipal  governments  firmly 
established,  a  constitutional  convention  was  called 
on  July  25,  1900,  "  to  frame  and  adopt  a  constitu- 
tion for  the  people  of  Cuba  and,  as  a  part  thereof, 
to  provide  for  and  agree  with  the  Government  of  the 
United  States  upon  the  relations  to  exist  between 
that  Government  and  the  Government  of  Cuba,  and 
to  provide  for  the  election  by  the  people  of  officers 
under  such  constitution  and  the  transfer  of  govern- 
ment to  the  officers  so  elected." 

The  election  was  "  wholly  under  the  charge  of  the 
Cubans,  without  any  participation  by  officers  or 
troops  of  the  United  States."  Thirty-one  members 
of  the  Constitutional  Convention  met  at  Habana 
and  began  to  draft  a  Cuban  constitution. 


12        THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

Meanwhile  question  arose  in  Washington  as  to 
the  relations  that  Cuba  should  bear  to  the  United 
States.  Congress  decided  this  question  in  the  so- 
called  "  Piatt  Amendment "  adopted  on  March  2, 
1901.     That  declaration  reads  as  follows: 

1.  That  the  Government  of  Cuba  shall  never  enter 
into  any  treaty  or  other  compact  with  any  foreign  power 
or  powers  which  will  impair  or  tend  to  impair  the  in- 
dependence of  Cuba,  nor  in  any  manner  authorize  or 
permit  any  foreign  power  or  powers  to  obtain  by  coloni- 
zation or  for  military  or  naval  purpose  or  otherwise, 
lodgment  in  or  control  over  any  portion  of  said  Island. 

2.  That  said  Government  shall  not  assume  or  eon- 
tract  any  public  debt,  to  pay  the  interest  upon  which, 
and  to  make  reasonable  sinking  fund  provision  for  the 
ultimate  discharge  of  which,  the  ordinary  revenues  of 
the  Island,  after  defraying  the  current  expenses  of  gov- 
ernment, shall  be  inadequate. 

3.  That  the  Government  of  Cuba  consents  that  the 
United  States  may  exercise  the  right  to  intervene  for 
the  preservation  of  Cuban  independence,  the  mainte- 
nance of  a  government  adequate  for  the  protection  of  life, 
property,  and  individual  liberty,  and  for  discharging 
the  obligations  with  respect  to  Cuba  imposed  by  the 
Treaty  of  Paris  on  the  United  States,  now  to  be  assumed 
and  undertaken  by  the  Government  of  Cuba. 

4.  That  all  acts  of  the  United  States  in  Cuba  during 
its  military  occupancy  thereof  are  ratified  and  validated, 
and  all  lawful  rights  acquired  thereunder  shall  be  main- 
tained and  protected. 

5.  That  the  Government  of  Cuba  will  execute,  and,  as 


BIRTH  OF  THE  CUBAN  REPUBLIC     13 

far  as  necessary,  extend  the  plans  already  devised,  or 
other  plans  to  be  mutually  agreed  upon,  for  the  sanita- 
tion of  the  cities  of  the  Island,  to  the  end  that  a  recur- 
rence of  epidemic  and  infectious  diseases  may  be  pre- 
vented, thereby  assuring  protection  to  the  people  and 
commerce  of  Cuba,  as  well  as  the  commerce  of  the  south- 
ern ports  of  the  United  States  and  the  people  residing 
therein. 

6.  That  the  Isle  of  Pines  shall  be  omitted  from  the 
proposed  constitutional  boundaries  of  Cuba,  the  title 
thereto  being  left  to  future  adjustment  by  treaty. 

7.  That  to  enable  the  United  States  to  maintain  the 
independence  of  Cuba,  and  to  protect  the  people  thereof, 
as  well  as  for  its  own  defense,  the  Government  of  Cuba 
will  sell  or  lease  to  the  United  States  lands  necessary  for 
coaling  or  naval  stations  at  certain  specified  points,  to  be 
agreed  upon  with  the  President  of  the  United  States. 

8.  That  by  way  of  further  assurance  the  Government 
of  Cuba  will  embody  the  foregoing  provisions  in  a  per- 
manent treaty  with  the  United  States. 

The  word  "  intervention  "  described  in  the  third 
clause  of  the  Piatt  Amendment  was  afterwards  ex- 
plained by  Mr.  Root,  then  Secretary  of  War,  in  a 
cable  message  to  Governor  Wood,  as  being  "not 
synonymous  with  intermeddling  or  interference 
with  the  affairs  of  the  Cuban  Government,  but  the 
formal  action  of  the  Government  of  the  United 
States  based  upon  just  and  substantial  grounds  for 
the  preservation  of  Cuban  independence  and  the 
maintenance   of  a  government  adequate  for  the 


14        THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

protection  of  life,  property,  and  individual  liberty, 
and  adequate  for  discharging  the  obligations  with 
respect  to  Cuba  imposed  by  the  treaty  of  Paris  on 
the  United  States." 

The  Piatt  Amendment  was  incorporated  in  the 
Cuban  Constitution,  which  was  accepted  by  the 
Government  of  the  United  States.  On  December 
31,  1901,  the  Cuban  people  elected  a  President,  a 
Vice-President,  Senate,  and  House  of  Representa- 
tives. Then  followed  one  of  the  most  interesting 
and  inspiring  events  in  the  history  of  free  institu- 
tions. The  flag  of  the  Stars  and  Stripes,  which  had 
been  planted  in  Cuban  soil  at  the  expense  of  Amer- 
ican treasure  and  American  blood,  was  to  be  volun- 
tarily hauled  down  to  give  way  to  the  flag  of  a  new- 
born nation.  With  music  and  song,  banners  and 
flowers,  and  while  forty-five  guns  were  being  fired 
as  a  salute  to  the  American  flag,  in  the  presence  of 
a  hundred  thousand  grateful  Cubans,  the  military 
governor,  representing  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  read  the  fateful  instrument  which  trans- 
ferred to  "  the  duly  elected  representatives  of  the 
people  of  Cuba  the  government  and  control  of  the 
Island,"  and  declared  "  the  occupation  of  Cuba  by 
the  United  States  and  the  military  government  of 
the  Island  to  be  ended." 

The  following  correspondence,  exchanged  be- 
tween President  Roosevelt  and  Secretary  Root  on 


BIRTH  OF  THE  CUBAN  REPUBLIC     15 

one  side  and  President  Palma  on  the  other,  will  de- 
scribe better  than  anything  else  this  interesting 
episode  of  the  birth  of  the  Cuban  nation. 

From  President  Roosevelt  to  President  Palma 
"White  House, 

Washington,  D.  C,  May  10,  1902. 
To  the  President  and  Congress  of  the  Republic  of  Cuba. 
Sirs: 

On  the  20th  of  this  month  the  military  governor  of 
Cuba  will,  by  my  direction,  transfer  to  you  the  control 
and  government  of  the  Island  of  Cuba,  to  be  thenceforth 
exercised  under  the  provisions  of  the  Constitution 
adopted  by  your  Constitutional  Convention  as  on  that 
day  promulgated;  and  he  will  thereupon  declare  the 
occupation  of  Cuba  by  the  United  States  to  be  at  an  end. 

At  the  same  time  I  desire  to  express  to  you  the  sincere 
friendship  and  good  wishes  of  the  United  States,  and 
our  most  earnest  hopes  for  the  stability  and  success  of 
your  government,  for  the  blessings  of  peace,  justice,  pros- 
perity, and  ordered  freedom  among  your  people,  and  for 
enduring  friendship  between  the  Republic  of  the  United 
States  and  the  Republic  of  Cuba. 

(Sgd.)  Theodore  Roosevelt, 
President  of  the  United  States. 

Acceptance  op  the  Government  by  President 
Palma 

Habana,  May  20,  1902. 
Hon.  General  Leonard  "Wood, 

Sir :  As  president  of  the  Republic  of  Cuba,  I  hereby 
receive  the  government  of  the  island  of  Cuba  which  you 


16        THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

transfer  to  me  in  compliance  with  orders  communicated 
to  you  by  the  President  of  the  United  States,  and  take 
note  that  by  this  act  the  military  occupation  of  Cuba 
ceases. 

I  take  this  solemn  occasion,  which  marks  the  fulfil- 
ment of  the  honored  promise  of  the  Government  and 
people  of  the  United  States  in  regard  to  the  Island  of 
Cuba,  and  in  which  in  our  country  is  made  a  ruling  na- 
tion, to  express  to  you,  the  worthy  representative  of  that 
grand  people,  the  immense  gratitude  which  the  people  of 
Cuba  feel  toward  the  American  nation,  towards  its  illus- 
trious President,  Theodore  Roosevelt,  and  toward  you 
for  the  efforts  you  have  put  forth  for  the  successful  ac- 
complishment of  such  a  precious  ideal. 

(Sgd.)  T.  Estrada  Palma. 


Message  of  Gratitude  from  President  Palma  to 
President  Roosevelt 

Habana,  May  20,  1902. 
Theodore  Roosevelt,  President,  Washington: 

The  government  of  the  Island  having  been  just  trans- 
ferred, I,  as  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  Republic,  faithfully 
interpreting  the  sentiments  of  the  whole  people  of  Cuba, 
have  the  honor  to  send  you  and  the  American  people  tes- 
timony of  our  profound  gratitude  and  the  assurance  of 
an  enduring  friendship,  with  wishes  and  prayers  to  the 
Almighty  for  the  welfare  and  prosperity  of  the  United 
States. 

(Sgd.)    T.   I^STRADA  PALMi. 


BIRTH  OF  THE  CUBAN  REPUBLIC     17 

From  Secretary  Root  to  President  Palma 

Washington,  May  20,  1902. 
President  of  the  Republic  of  Cuba : 

Believe  in  my  heartfelt  congratulations  upon  the  in- 
auguration of  the  republic  which  the  people  of  Cuba  and 
the  people  of  the  United  States  have  fought  and  labored 
together  to  establish.  With  confidence  in  your  unselfish 
patriotism  and  courage  and  in  the  substantial  civic  vir- 
tues of  your  people,  I  bid  you  god-speed,  and  on  this 
happy  day  wish  for  Cuba  for  all  time  liberty  and  order, 
peace  and  prosperity.  ^^^^^  ^^^^  ^^^ 

Secretary  of  War. 

From  President  Palma  to  Secretary  Root 

Habana,  May  21,  1902. 
Elihu  Root,  Secretary  of  War,  Washington : 

I  am  deeply  moved  by  your  heartfelt  message  of  con- 
gratulation on  the  inauguration  of  the  Republic  of  Cuba, 
to  the  birth  of  which  the  people  and  the  Government  of 
the  United  States  have  contributed  with  their  blood  and 
treasure.  Rest  assured  that  the  Cuban  people  can  never 
forget  the  debt  of  gratitude  they  owe  the  great  republic, 
with  which  we  will  always  cultivate  the  closest  relations 
of  friendship  and  for  the  prosperity  of  which  we  pray  to 
the  Almighty.  ^g^^^  ^   ^^,^^  p^^_ 

Such  was  America's  brief  record  of  her  mag- 
nanimity towards  the  Cuban  people.  No  gold 
can  buy  such  imperishable  glory! 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  ACQUISITION  OF  THE  PHILIPPINES 

THE  acquisition  of  the  Philippines  by  the 
United  States  was  the  most  unforeseen  event 
in  the  history  of  American  expansion.  It  is  often 
suggested  that  God  himself  put  the  Islands  in  the 
care  of  the  American  people  and  therefore  they 
should  be  regarded  as  a  sacred  trust.  Yet,  before 
Dewey's  victory  at  Cavite,  the  majority  of  the  Amer- 
ican people  did  not  even  know  that  there  was  such 
a  thing  as  the  Philippine  Archipelago.  Senator 
Williams  of  Mississippi  once  remarked  that  as  a 
member  of  the  House  Committee  on  Foreign  Rela- 
tions during  the  Spanish-American  War  it  w^as  one 
of  his  arduous  tasks  to  climb  upon  a  stool  and  point 
out  the  Islands  on  the  map  for  the  benefit  of  his 
colleagues.  It  would  be  interesting  to  know  when 
American  statesmen  first  conceived  the  probability 
and  desirability  of  acquiring  the  Philippines.  We 
should  be  unreasonable  were  we  to  believe  that,  with 
war  with  Spain  imminent,  no  American  public  men 
ever  thought  of  the  Philippines,  garrisoned,  as  they 
were,  by  Spanish  soldiers.     To  military  and  naval 

18 


ACQUISITION  OF  THE  PHILIPPINES     19 

experts,  at  least,  must  have  occurred  the  idea  of 
attacking  the  Spanish  fleet  and  garrisons  in  the 
Islands. 

Admiral  Dewey  was  then  in  the  Gulf  of  Cali- 
fornia in  command  of  the  Narragansettj  when  he 
received  the  news  of  the  possibility  of  the  war,  and 
the  idea  of  taking  the  Philippines  at  once  struck 
him.  His  officers  felt  gloomy  at  the  prospect  of 
being  caught  by  the  war  while  in  the  Gulf,  but  he 
at  once  said,  "  If  war  with  Spain  was  declared,  the 
Narragansett  will  take  Manila."  This  was  not 
said  purely  in  a  jocose  spirit,  for  Dewey  had  really 
made  up  his  mind  to  attack  the  Spaniards  in  Ma- 
nila. "  In  command  of  an  efficient  force  in  the  Far 
East,"  he  said,  "  with  a  free  hand  to  act,  in  conse- 
quence of  being  so  far  away  from  Washington,  I 
could  strike  promptly  and  successfully  at  the 
Spanish  force  in  the  Philippines."  ^  With  this  end 
in  view,  he  sought  the  commandership  of  the  Asiatic 
squadron,  which  he  subsequently  obtained  with  the 
help  of  Mr.  Koosevelt,  then  Assistant  Secretary  of 
the  Navy. 

While  the  American  people  were  all  excitement 
over  the  Cuban  question,  their  indignation  increas- 
ing every  day  because  of  the  atrocities  committed 
by  the  Spaniards  in  their  neighboring  island  of 
Cuba,  Dewey  was  busy  fitting  out  his  squadron,  de- 

1  Dewey,  Autobiography,  p.  168. 


20       THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

termined  to  destroy  the  Spanish  forces  in  Manila. 
He  supplied  himself  with  all  available  informa- 
tion about  the  Philippines,  took  on  board  all  the 
books  relating  to  the  Islands  he  could  secure,  and 
began  to  study  the  people  and  the  country.  He  lit- 
tle dreamed  that  what  he  proposed  to  accomplish 
would  divert  the  thought  of  the  American  people 
into  an  entirely  new  channel,  change  their  national 
ideals,  and  break  down  their  traditional  isolation. 
He  sailed  on  December  7,  1897.  While  the  public 
mind  was  absorbed  by  the  troubles  in  Cuba,  naval 
authorities  in  Washington  were  watching  Dewey's 
movements  with  interest.  On  February  25,  1898, 
Dewey  received  the  following  significant  order  from 
Assistant  Secretary  Roosevelt : 

Dewey, 

Hongkong. 
Order  the  squadron  except  the  Monocacy  to  Hong- 
kong, Keep  full  of  coal.  In  the  event  of  declaration  of 
war  with  Spain,  your  duty  will  be  to  see  that  the  Spanish 
squadron  does  not  leave  the  Asiatic  coast,  and  offensive 
operations  in  Philippine  Islands.  Keep  Olympia  until 
further  orders. 

Roosevelt. 

Six  weeks  elapsed  after  this  order  w^as  given,  be- 
fore the  final  break  came  and  he  received  the  order 
to  proceed  to  Manila  and  destroy  the  Spanish  fleet. 

What  happened  on  that  morning  of  May  first  is 


ACQUISITION  OF  THE  PHILIPPINES     21 

now  a  familiar  story  in  America.  It  was  flashed 
that  same  day  to  every  American  home.  It  electri- 
fied the  whole  American  people  into  a  realization  of 
the  significance  of  that  victory.  The  privations  of 
the  Cuban  people  were  temporarily  forgotten,  and 
attention  was  drawn  to  the  other  side  of  the  ocean 
where  an  American  success  was  in  full  progress. 
It  was  the  first  battle  waged  by  Americans  outside 
of  their  own  hemisphere.  To  many  of  them  it  was 
the  sign  of  their  entry  into  the  arena  of  world  poli- 
tics. America,  in  their  conception,  was  now  in 
reality  a  world  power.  Almost  in  a  moment  she 
had  crushed  the  navy  of  what  had  once  been  the 
greatest  of  world  empires.  The  way  was,  therefore, 
now  clear  for  the  fulfilment  of  America's  new  role. 
A  limitless  horizon  was  open.  America's  "  mani- 
fest destiny  "  was  on  the  way  to  fulfilment.  Who 
would  shirk  such  a  future?  Who  would  pull  down 
the  flag  raised  in  Manila  Bay?  "Who  dares  halt 
it  now,"  challenged  Senator  Beveridge  — "  now 
when  history's  largest  events  are  carrying  it  for- 
ward —  now  when  we  are  at  last  one  people,  strong 
enough  for  any  task,  great  enough  for  any  glory 
destiny  can  bestow?  Blind  is  he  who  sees  not  the 
hand  of  God  in  events  so  vast,  so  harmonious,  so 
benign  I  "  The  movement  for  the  retention  of  the 
Philippines  was  thus  set  on  foot.  It  was  "  the 
natural  impulse  of  a  people  full  of  exultation  and 


K 


22       THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

pride  over  the  completeness,  without  precedent  in 
naval  wars,  of  the  victory  that  Dewey  had  achieved 
with  a  skill  and  intrepidity  that  conferred  splendor 
upon  American  arms.  It  was  the  spontaneous  out- 
burst of  simplest  patriotism  to  ask  that  that  flag, 
so  valiantly  planted,  might  float  there  forever  in 
memory  of  the  heroes  who  raised  it."  ^ 

But  glory  and  power  were  not  the  only  incentives 
leading  to  the  retention  of  the  Philippines.  People 
thought  they  saw  also  visions  of  vast  commercial 
possibilities.  The  land  of  eight  million  people 
would  be  a  market  for  American  goods  not  to  be 
despised.  As  a  distributing  center,  the  Philippines 
would  be  even  more  alluring.  They  were  at  the 
very  portals  of  Asia,  whose  teeming  millions  are  so 
much  sought  after  by  all  European  trade.  Who 
would  give  up  such  an  advantageous  position  ac- 
quired "  without  the  slighest  premeditation  "  ? 
Glowing  pictures  of  the  rich  fields  for  American 
enterprise  were  painted  in  imagination.  There 
was  a  glamour  of  romance  in  the  grand  project. 
China  was  supposedly  on  the  verge  of  partition  and 
America's  possession  of  the  Philippines  would  cer- 
tainly strengthen  her  sphere  of  influence  in  that 
country.^ 

2  Henry  Watterson,  History  of  the  Spanish- American  War, 
p.  277. 

8  "  The  movement  for  the  partition  of  China  was  well  under 
way  when  the  United  States  went  to  war  with  Spain  and  the 


ACQUISITION  OF  THE  PHILIPPINES     23 

"  Together  with  the  Islands  of  the  Japanese 
Empire,  since  the  acquirement  of  Formosa,"  Mr. 
Vanderlip  said,  "the  Philippines  are  the  pickets 
of  the  Pacific,  standing  guard  at  the  entrances 
to  trade  with  the  millions  of  China  and  Korea, 
French  Indo-China,  the  Malay  Peninsula,  and  the 
islands  of  Indonesia  to  the  south.  Australia  may 
even  be  regarded  as  in  the  line  of  trade.  The 
possession  of  the  Philippines  by  a  progressive, 
commercial  power,  if  the  Nicaragua  Canal  project 
should  be  completed,  would  change  the  course  of 
ocean  navigations  as  it  concerns  a  large  percentage 
of  the  water-borne  traffic  of  the  world.  The  project 
is  alluring.  In  the  undeveloped  resources  of  the 
Philippines  the  sanguine  radicals  see  a  great  op- 
portunity for  our  genius.  They  recognize  that  in 
a  decade  we  might  make  a  change  greater  than  has 
been  wrought  since  Magellan's  discovery  until  the 
present  time.  They  see  great  development  com- 
panies formed  to  cultivate  tobacco  and  sugar  by 
modern  methods,  others  formed  to  test  the  richness 
of  the  unknown  mineral  deposits,  and  still  others  to 

Philippine  Islands  came  within  its  grasp.  To  seize  a  sphere 
of  influence  in  China  seemed  utterly  repugnant  to  the  tradi- 
tional policy  of  the  United  States,  and  would  not  have  been 
acquiesced  in  by  the  Senate ;  but  the  occupation  of  the  Philip- 
pines would  give  a  point  of  vantage  from  which  the  American 
Government  could  still  exercise  a  decisive  influence  in  the 
Orient.  Such  considerations  were  probably  the  main  factor 
In  President  McKinley's  decision  to  retain  the  Philippines." 
—  J.  H.  Latane,  America  as  a  World  Power,  p.  102. 


24       THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

develop  transportation  or  to  reap  the  treasures  of 
the  forest."  ^ 

So  sudden  was  this  rise  of  the  unforeseen  im- 
perialistic tide,  so  great  was  the  desire  for  vast 
colonial  possessions,  that  many  even  sought  to  re- 
tain Cuba  despite  America's  most  solemn  declara- 
tion that  the  Cuban  people  "  are  and  of  right  ought 
to  be  free  and  independent." 

What  the  Filipino  people  might  have  to  say  of 
this  policy  apparently  never  entered  the  minds  of 
the  rank  and  file  of  the  American  people.  In  that 
proud  hour  of  national  rejoicing  over  a  glorious 
victory  the  American  people  failed  to  see  on  the 
other  side  of  the  Pacific  anything  but  the  splen- 
dor of  their  arms.  Their  eyes  were  fixed  not  on 
the  solid  earth  but  on  the  tropic  sky  where  waved 
for  the  first  time  their  national  emblem.  Annex- 
ing the  Philippines  was  like  any  other  previous 
act  of  American  expansion,  save  that  it  signified 
a  much  greater  thing  —  America's  rise  into  the 
position  of  a  world  power.  There  was  no  concep- 
tion of  the  existence  in  the  Islands  of  any  native, 
well-defined  political  entity  that  might  oppose  such 
annexation.  The  Philippines  were  nothing  save  a 
geographical  expression;  and  a  few  months  before 
the  decisive  victory  of  Manila  Bay  had  not  been 
even  a  "  geographical  expression,"  for  the  majority 

*  Frank  A.  Vanderlip,  "  Century  Magazine,"  August,  189S 
cited  in  Sen.  Doc.  62,  Pt.  I,  55th  Cong.,  3d  ses.,  p.  501. 


ACQUISITION  OF  THE  PHILIPPINES     25 

of  the  American  people  were  then  unable  to  locate 
the  Islands  on  the  map. 

American  public  men  were  evidently  puzzled  at 
this  sudden  turn  of  public  sentiment.  It  was  un- 
expected. The  Spanish-American  War  was  at  first 
waged  simply  as  a  protest  against  Spain's  iniqui- 
tous imperialistic  policy.  The  American  people 
viewed  that  war  as  a  war  for  humanity  and  not  for 
territorial  aggrandizement.  No  more  vigorous 
spokesman  of  this  sentiment  was  there  than  Presi- 
dent McKinley  himself.  His  public  utterances 
were  fraught  with  protestations  of  America's  un- 
selfish purposes.  He  had  said  that  forcible  annexa- 
tion was  not  to  be  thought  of,  for  according  to 
American  standards  it  would  be  criminal  aggres- 
sion.^ Even  before  he  had  entered  the  White 
House  he  was  a  determined  champion  of  human 
rights.  "  Human  rights  and  constitutional  privi- 
leges/' he  had  proclaimed,  "  must  not  be  forgotten 
in  the  race  for  wealth  and  commercial  supremacy. 
The  government  by  the  people  must  be  by  the  peo- 
ple and  not  by  a  few  of  the  people.  It  must  rest 
upon  the  free  consent  of  the  governed,  and  of  all  the 
governed.  Power,  it  must  be  remembered,  which 
is  secured  by  oppression,  or  usurpation,  or  by  any 
form  of  injustice,  is  soon  dethroned."  ^ 

5  Message  of  April  11,  1898. 

e  Speech  at  the  New  England  dinner,  New  York  City,  1890. 


26       THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

It  took,  however,  several  months  completely  to 
visualize  the  sentiment  and  movement  for  the  re- 
tention of  the  Philippines ;  and  upon  the  signing  of 
the  peace  protocol  of  August  12, 1898,  the  President 
was  still  undecided  as  to  what  course  he  should 
take  with  regard  to  the  Islands.  He  was  rather 
inclined  not  to  annex  them.  The  French  ambas- 
sador, who  negotiated  the  protocol,  was  quoted  as 
saying  that  during  the  negotiations  he  was  made 
to  understand  that  the  exercise  of  sovereignty  over 
the  Philippines  was  to  suffer  no  change.  The 
protocol  simply  stated  that  "  the  United  States  will 
occupy  and  hold  the  city,  bay,  and  harbor  of  Ma- 
nila, pending  the  conclusion  of  the  treaty  which 
shall  determine  the  control,  disposition,  and  govern- 
ment of  the  Philippines."  '^ 

The  day  after  the  signing  of  the  protocol,  the 
President,  however,  caused  a  very  significant  cable- 
gram to  be  sent  by  the  navy  department  to  Admiral 
Dewey.  This  was  indicative  -of  the  fact  that  the 
President  was  beginning  to  heed  the  growing  popu- 
lar demand  to  secure  the  Philippines  for  naval  and 
commercial  purposes.     The  cable  read  as  follows: 

Dewey, 

c/o  American  Consul,  Hongkong. 

The  President  desires  to  receive  from  you  any  impor- 
tant information  you  may  have  of  the  Philippines,  the 

T  Article  III  of  the  protocol. 


ACQUISITION  OF  THE  PHILIPPINES     27 

desirability  of  the  several  islands,  the  character  of  their 
population,  coal,  and  other  mineral  deposits,  their  harbor 
and  commercial  advantages,  and,  in  a  naval  and  com- 
mercial sense,  which  would  be  the  most  advantageous. 
If  you  have  other  information  which  may  be  of  value 
to  the  Government  in  their  negotiations,  the  President 
may  desire  your  presence  here.  If  he  should  request  you 
to  come,  take  quickest  route  of  travel. 

Allen,  Secretary. 

On  the  same  day  that  the  above  cablegram  was 
sent,  Manila  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  American 
troops.  This  event  must  have  stimulated  the  al- 
ready strong  passion  for  the  possession  of  the  Phil- 
ippines. Of  the  five  commissioners  appointed  to 
negotiate  the  final  treaty  with  Spain,  three  were 
already  known  to  favor  the  acquisition  of  territory 
in  the  Far  East.  They  were  the  Hon.  Cushman  C. 
Davis,  chairman  of  the  Senate  Committee  on  For- 
eign Relations,  the  Hon.  William  P.  Frye,  member 
of  the  same  committee,  and  the  Hon.  Whitelaw 
Reid,  formerly  envoy  extraordinary  and  minister 
plenipotentiary  of  the  United  States  to  France. 
The  other  members  were  the  Hon.  William  R.  Day, 
Secretary  of  State,  w^ho  acted  as  president  of  the 
Commission,  and  the  Hon.  George  Gray,  member  of 
the  Senate  Foreign  Relations  Committee.  Five 
weeks  after  the  signing  of  the  protocol,  the  Presi- 
dent handed  to  the  American  commissioners  the 
instructions  that  would  guide  them  in  negotiating 


28        THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

the  treaty  of  peace.  A  marked  change  had  now  ap- 
peared in  his  attitude  toward  the  Philippines.  He 
first  explained  the  attack  on  Manila,  saying  that 
notice  of  the  protocol  was  sent  as  soon  as  possible 
but  that  when  it  reached  the  Islands,  Manila  had 
already  been  taken.  Manila  was,  therefore,  accord- 
ing to  the  Administration's  viewpoint,  held  by  the 
United  States  not  primarily  by  virtue  of  the  proto- 
col but  by  conquest.  "  In  view  of  what  has  taken 
place,"  the  instructions  continued,  "  it  is  necessary 
now  to  determine  what  shall  be  our  future  rela- 
tions to  the  Philippines.  Before  giving  you  specific 
instruction  on  this  subject  it  is  my  desire  to  present 
certain  general  considerations."  President  Mc- 
Kinley  then  reiterated  the  humane  objects  of  the 
war.  "  It  is  my  earnest  wish,"  he  said,  "  that  the 
United  States  in  making  peace  should  follow  the 
same  high  rule  of  conduct  which  guided  it  in  facing 
war.  .  .  .  The  luster  and  the  moral  strength  at- 
taching to  a  cause  which  can  be  properly  rested 
upon  the  considerate  judgment  of  the  world  should 
not  under  any  illusion  of  the  hour  be  dimmed  by 
ulterior  designs  which  might  tempt  us  into  exces- 
sive demands  or  into  adventurous  departure  on 
untried  paths."  Evidently  these  general  consid- 
erations, pregnant  with  lofty  thoughts  and  ideals, 
referred  only  to  Spain's  territories  in  the  Western 
Hemisphere,  for,  turning  back  to  the  subject  of  the 


ACQUISITION  OF  THE  PHILIPPINES     29 

Philippines,  the  President  said :  "  The  Philippines 
stand  upon  a  different  basis.  It  is  none  the  less 
true,  however,  that,  without  any  original  thought 
of  complete  or  even  partial  acquisition,  the  pres- 
ence and  success  of  our  arms  at  Manila  impose  upon 
us  obligations  which  we  cannot  disregard.  The 
march  of  events  rules  and  overrules  human  action. 
Avowing  unreservedly  the  purpose  which  has  ani- 
mated all  our  effort,  and  still  solicitous  to  adhere 
to  it,  we  cannot  be  unmindful  that,  without  any  de- 
sire or  design  on  our  part,  the  war  has  brought  us 
new  duties  and  responsibilities  which  we  must  meet 
and  discharge  as  becomes  a  great  nation  whose 
growth  and  career  from  the  beginning  the  Ruler  of 
nations  has  plainly  written  the  high  command  and 
pledge  of  civilization."  This,  however,  was  de- 
signed only  as  an  introduction  to  the  expression  of 
the  President's  real  desire  with  regard  to  the  Phil- 
ippines. The  next  paragraph  would  indicate  that 
Mr.  McKinley  was  not  blind  to  his  people's  vision 
of  commercial  greatness.  "  Incidental  to  our  ten- 
ure in  the  Philippines,"  he  continued,  "  is  the  com- 
mercial opportunity  to  which  American  statesman- 
ship cannot  be  indifferent.  It  is  just  to  use  every 
legitimate  means  for  the  enlargement  of  American 
trade,  but  we  seek  no  advantages  in  the  Orient 
which  are  not  common  to  all.  Asking  only  the  open 
door  for  ourselves,  we  are  ready  to  accord  the  open 


30        THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

door  to  others."  Then  as  a  logical  sequence  of  the 
foregoing  considerations  the  finale  came  in  the 
form  of  a  demand  for  "  the  cession  in  full  right  and 
sovereignty  of  the  island  of  Luzon." 

The  Spanish  and  American  commissioners  met 
in  Paris  on  October  1,  1898.  Several  days  after- 
wards General  Merritt  arrived  with  statements  on 
conditions  in  the  Philippine  Islands  from  General 
Greene,  Major  Bell,  Admiral  Dewey,  Colonel  Jew- 
ett,  and  the  Belgian  consul,  Andre.  These  state- 
ments of  Philippine  conditions  were  to  guide  the 
American  commissioners  in  deciding  the  fate  of 
'the  Philippines.  The  papers  read  were  practically 
of  the  same  tenor  —  that  it  would  not  be  wise  to 
return  all  of  the  Islands  or  perhaps  even  some  of 
them  to  Spain,  that  the  natives  would  not  offer 
much  resistance  to  American  rule,  and  that,  above 
all,  the  cession  of  the  entire  archipelago  would  be 
a  "  good  business  proposition  "  for  the  American 
nation.  The  opinion  which  probably  weighed  most 
on  the  American  commissioners  as  coming  from  an 
impartial  observer  was  that  of  the  Belgian  consul 
in  Manila,  Mr.  Andre.     He  said: 

The  United  States  can  assure  a  steady  government 
in  these  Islands,  and  in  their  hands  the  country  will  in- ' 
crease  in  wealth,  and  will,  in  a  short  time,  be  able  to 
return  to  the  United  States  the  money  laid  out;  and  it 


ACQUISITION  OF  THE  PHILIPPINES     31 

would  be  certainly  much  cheaper  and  more  humane  to 
take  the  entire  Philippines  than  to  keep  only  part  of  it 
and  to  run  the  risk  of  a  second  war  with  Spain  for  the 
very  same  reason  that  provoked  the  present  conflict.  It 
is  the  duty  of  the  United  States  to  do  so  and  to  protect 
the  entire  country.* 

John  Foreman,  the  well-known  writer  on  the 
Philippines,  was  also  asked  his  opinion,  and  he  said 
that  it  would  be  best  to  take  all  of  the  Philippine 
Islands. 

The  information  received  failed,  however,  to  har- 
monize the  conflicting  views  of  the  American  com- 
missioners as  to  the  disposition  of  the  Philippines, 
and  on  October  25,  1898,  the  commissioners  cabled 
their  different  opinions  to  Washington.  The  three 
commissioners  who  had  been,  even  before  the  treaty, 
reported  as  favoring  American  acquisition  in  the 
East  earnestly  urged  the  cession  of  all  the  Islands. 
Mr.  Day  favored  the  cession  of  Luzon  only  as  a  test 
of  America's  capacity  for  colonial  rule.  Senator 
Gray  was  opposed  to  the  cession  of  the  whole  archi- 
pelago or  of  part  of  it.  His  was  a  strong  anti-ex- 
pansionist plea.  He  telegraphed  to  Washington 
as  follows: 

The  undersigned  cannot  agree  that  it  is  wise  to  take 
Philippine    Islands   in   whole   or   in   part.     To   do    so 

8  Sen.  Doc.  62,  55th  Cong.,  3rd  ses.,  p.  389. 


32        THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

would  be  to  reverse  accepted  continental  policy  of  the 
country,  declared  and  acted  upon  throughout  our  history. 
Propinquity  governs  the  case  of  Cuba  and  Porto  Rico. 
Policy  proposed  introduces  us  into  European  politics 
and  the  entangling  alliances  against  which  Washington 
and  all  American  statesmen  have  protested.  It  will 
make  necessary  a  navy  equal  to  largest  of  powers;  a 
greatly  increased  military  establishment;  immense  sums 
for  fortifications  and  harbors;  multiply  occasions  for 
dangerous  complications  with  foreign  nations,  and  in- 
crease burdens  of  taxation.  Will  receive  in  compensa- 
tion no  outlet  for  American  labor  in  labor  market  al- 
ready overcrowded  and  cheap ;  no  area  for  homes  for 
American  citizens;  climate  and  social  conditions  demor- 
alizing to  character  of  American  youth;  new  and  dis- 
turbing questions  introduced  into  our  politics;  church 
question  menacing.  On  whole,  instead  of  indemnity  — 
injury. 

The  undersigned  cannot  agree  that  any  obligation 
incurred  to  insurgents  is  paramount  to  our  own  manifest 
interests.  Attacked  Manila  as  legitimate  war  against 
Spain.  If  we  had  captured  Cadiz  and  Carlists  had 
helped,  would  not  owe  duty  to  stay  by  them  at  the  con- 
clusion of  war.  On  the  contrary,  interests  and  duty 
would  require  us  to  abandon  both  Manila  and  Cadiz. 
No  place  for  colonial  administration  or  government  of 
subject  people  in  American  system.  So  much  from 
standpoint  of  interests;  but  even  conceding  all  benefits 
claimed  for  annexation,  we  thereby  abandon  the  in- 
finitely greater  benefit  to  accrue  from  acting  the  part  of 
a  great,  powerful,  and  Christian  nation;  we  exchange 
the  moral  grandeur  and  strength  to  be  gained  by  keep- 


ACQUISITION  OF  THE  PHILIPPINES     33 

ing  our  word  to  the  nations  of  the  world  and  by  exhibit- 
ing a  magnanimity  and  moderation  in  the  hour  of  vic- 
tory, that  becomes  the  advanced  civilization  we  claim, 
for  doubtful  material  advantages  and  shameful  stepping 
down  from  high  moral  position  boastfully  assumed. 
We  should  set  examples  in  this  respect,  not  follow  in 
the  selfish  and  vulgar  greed  for  territory  which  Eu- 
rope has  inherited  from  medieval  times.  Our  declara- 
tion of  war  upon  Spain  was  accompanied  by  a  solemn 
and  deliberate  definition  of  our  purpose.  Now  that  we 
have  achieved  all  and  more  than  our  object,  let  us  sim- 
ply keep  our  word.  Third  article  of  the  protocol  leaves 
everything  concerning  the  control  of  the  Philippine 
Islands  to  negotiation  between  the  parties. 

It  is  absurd  now  to  say  that  we  will  not  negotiate 
but  will  appropriate  the  whole  subject  matter  of  nego- 
tiation. At  the  very  least  let  us  adhere  to  the  Presi- 
dent's instructions  and  if  conditions  require  the  keep- 
ing of  Luzon  forego  the  material  advantages  claimed  in 
annexing  other  islands.  Above  all  let  us  not  make  a 
mockery  of  the  injunction  contained  in  those  instruc- 
tions, where,  after  stating  that  we  took  up  arms  only 
in  obedience  to  the  dictates  of  humanity  and  in  the  ful- 
filment of  high  public  and  moral  obligations,  and  that 
we  had  no  design  of  aggrandizement  and  no  ambition 
of  conquest,  the  President  among  other  things  eloquently 
says: 

"  It  is  my  earnest  wish  that  the  United  States  in  mak- 
ing peace  should  follow  the  same  high  rule  of  conduct 
which  guided  it  in  facing  war.  It  should  be  as  scru- 
pulous and  magnanimous  in  the  concluding  settlement  as 
it  was  just  and  humane  in  its  original  action." 


34        THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

This  and  more,  of  which  I  earnestly  ask  a  repenisal, 
binds  my  conscience  and  governs  my  action. 

George  Gray. 
Wednesday,  12:30,  night. 

The  next  day,  October  26,  however,  came  a  final 
and  definite  reply  from  Mr.  Hay: 

Mr.  Hay  to  ]\Ir.  Day 

October  26,  1898. 
The  information  which  has  come  to  the  President 
since  your  departure  convinces  him  that  the  acceptance 
of  the  cession  of  Luzon  alone,  having  the  rest  of  the 
Islands  subject  to  Spanish  rule,  or  to  be  the  subject  of 
future  contention,  cannot  be  justified  on  political,  com- 
mercial, or  humanitarian  grounds.  The  cession  must  be 
of  the  whole  archipelago  or  none.  The  latter  is  wholly 
inadmissible,  and  the  former  must  therefore  be  re- 
quired.^ 

Thus  the  third  and  last  stage  was  reached  in  the 
process  of  Philippine  acquisition.  During  the  first 
stage  the  President  was  free  not  to  take  and  had 
no  intention  of  taking  the  Islands,  then  he  gave  in- 
structions to  demand  the  cession  of  Luzon,  and 
lastly  he  asked  the  whole  or  none. 

All  these  communications  had  passed  before  the 
subject  of  the  Philippines  came  up  for  formal  dis- 
cussion in  the  conference. 

In  the  meanwhile  a  critical  situation  had  been 

9  Foreign  Relations,  1898,  p.  935. 


ACQUISITION  OF  THE  PHILIPPINES     35 

reached  in  the  conference,  for  the  Spanish  commis- 
sioners insisted  that  the  United  States  should  as- 
sume the  Cuban  debt,  and  the  American  commis- 
sioners were  determined  not  to  assume  it.  A  break 
of  the  conference  was  now  imminent.  In  the  eve- 
ning of  October  26,  the  Spanish  ambassador  called 
on  Mr.  Reid  for  an  informal  conversation.  Mr. 
Reid  again  assured  the  ambassador  that  the  Amer- 
ican Government  could  not  assume  the  Cuban  debt, 
the  American  people  being  strongly  against  it. 
Then  the  ambassador  "  urged  the  question  to  be  laid 
aside  until  it  could  be  seen  if  some  concessions 
elsewhere  might  not  be  found  which  would  save  the 
Spanish  commission  from  utter  repudiation  at 
home."  The  ambassador  then  begged  Mr.  Reid  to 
search  for  some  possible  concession  somewhere  and 
inquired  about  the  Philippine  Islands.  Appar- 
ently this  informal  talk  smoothed  matters  a  little, 
for  the  next  day  the  Spanish  commissioners  an- 
nounced that  they  accepted  the  draft  of  Articles  I 
and  II,  by  which  it  was  agreed  that  Spain  would 
relinquish  her  sovereignty  over  Cuba  and  Porto 
Rico  without  any  reference  being  made  as  to  the 
Cuban  debt,  but  that  this  acceptance  would  be 
"  subject  to  agreement  being  reached  on  all  the  ar- 
ticles which  the  treaty  should  contain."  Evidently 
they  expected  better  treatment  in  the  case  of  the 
Philippines. 


36        THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

The  formal  demand  for  the  cession  of  the  Phil- 
ippine Islands  was  ofifered  on  October  31.  The  de- 
mand stated  further  that  the  American  commis- 
sioners were  prepared  "to  insert  in  the  treaty  a 
stipulation  for  the  assumption  by  the  United  States 
of  any  existing  indebtedness  of  Spain  incurred  for 
pubic  works  and  improvements  of  a  pacific  char- 
acter in  the  Philippines."  The  Spanish  Commis- 
sion received  this  demand  with  expressions  of  great 
surprise  and  immediately  rejected  it.  They  main- 
tained that  such  an  offer  was  not  warranted  by  the 
peace  protocol.  At  the  signing  of  this  document, 
they  claimed,  President  McKinley  "  not  only  had 
no  idea  that  Spain  would  have  to  cede  the  Philip- 
pine archipelago  to  the  United  States  but  enter- 
tained, on  the  contrary,  an  opposite  idea,  namely, 
that  Spain  would  retain  her  sovereignty  over  it."  ^^ 
They  further  contended  that  the  words  "  control, 
disposition,  and  government "  ( le  controle^  la  dis- 
position, et  la  gouvernement)  used  in  Article  III 
of  the  protocol  did  not  embrace  the  subject  of  sov- 
ereignty. The  American  commissioners  naturally 
took  the  opposite  view,  saying  that  the  protocol 
meant  that  the  treaty  would  decide  what  was  to  be 
done  with  the  Philippines. 

One  of  the  claims  of  President  McKinley  was 
that  the  sovereignty  of  the  Philippines  could  be  de- 

10  Sen.  Doc.  62,  pt  1,  55tli  Cong.,  3rd  ses.,  p.  121. 


ACQUISITION  OF  THE  PHILIPPINES     37 

manded  by  right  of  conquest.  After  a  careful 
study,  however,  of  the  question  by  the  American 
commissioners,  the  majority  of  them  became  con- 
vinced that  such  a  position  was  unwarrantable  and 
on  November  3  wired  the  President  accordingly. 

Although  the  cession  of  the  whole  group  of  is- 
lands was  demanded,  the  individual  commissioners 
had  still  different  views  as  to  what  the  United 
States  should  have.  On  November  11,  each  com- 
missioner cabled  his  individual  opinion  to  the  Presi- 
dent. Mr.  Day  was  inclined  to  think  that  the  Phil- 
ippines would  be  more  of  a  burden  than  benefit  to 
the  United  States  and  that  the  only  service  it  would 
render  would  be  that  of  a  naval  and  commercial 
basis.  He  suggested  the  taking  of  Luzon  and  its 
adjacent  islands  only.  If  the  whole  group  should 
be  demanded,  he  was  of  the  opinion  that  a  lump  sum 
should  be  paid  for  them,  knowing  that  he  and  his 
colleagues  were  dealing  "  with  a  bankrupt  nation." 

Mr.  Frye  said :  "  I  favor  the  taking  of  the  entire 
group  and  paying  $10,000,000  in  gold,  a  fair  esti- 
mate of  debt  properly  chargeable  to  the  Philippine 
Islands.  If  necessary  to  secure  a  treaty,  and,  I 
believe,  it  is,  I  would  take  Luzon,  Mindoro,  Pala- 
wan, also  Ponape,  of  the  Carolines,  paying  from 
$5,000,000  to  110,000,000." 

Mr.  Gray  still  adhered  to  his  former  opinion  that 
the  United  States  should  not  take  either  the  whole 


38        THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

or  a  part ;  but  added :  "  Believing  that  the  result 
of  a  failure  to  obtain  a  treaty  would  be  the  possible 
seizure  of  the  whole  Philippine  Islands  group,  an 
event  greatly  to  be  deprecated  as  inconsistent  with 
the  traditions  and  civilization  of  the  United  States, 
I  would  be  willing  to  take  the  Islands  by  the  ces- 
sion of  a  treaty  of  peace,  and  I  would,  to  that  end, 
make  such  reasonable  concessions  as  would  com- 
port with  the  magnanimity  of  a  great  nation  dealing 
with  a  weak  and  prostrate  foe.  I  mean  that  I 
would  prefer  the  latter  alternative  to  the  former, 
not  that  I  have  changed  my  mind  as  to  the  policy 
of  taking  the  Philippine  Islands  at  all." 

Mr.  Reid  felt  that  Spain  should  repay  indemnity 
with  territory  inasmuch  as  she  had  no  money.  But 
to  secure  a  definite  treaty  of  peace,  he  would  take 
the  Philippine  Islands  and  Carolines,  paying  for 
the  latter  and  for  pacific  expenditures  in  the  former 
from  112,000,000  to  $15,000,000.  He  would  not  in- 
sist on  the  inclusion  of  Mindanao  and  Zulu. 

Mr.  Davis'  opinion  was  the  most  uncompromising 
of  all.  He  said  that  the  United  States  should  de- 
mand the  Philippine  Islands,  Porto  Rico,  Guam, 
and  the  sovereignty  of  Cuba  without  offering  a 
money  payment. 

The  President's  final  instructions  were  sent  on 
November  13.  He  reiterated  that  the  United  States 
was  fully  entitled  to  indemnity  for  the  cost  of  the 


ACQUISITION  OF  THE  PHILIPPINES     39 

war.  If  Spain  could  pay  the  cost  of  the  war  and 
the  claims  of  American  citizens,  give  a  suitable 
guaranty  to  the  people  of  the  Philippines,  and  grant 
the  United  States  naval  and  telegraph  concessions 
and  other  trade  advantages,  then  she  might  retain 
the  sovereignty  of  the  Philippine  Islands.  "  From 
the  standpoint  of  indemnity,"  the  President  con- 
tinued, "  both  the  archipelagoes  are  insufficient  to 
pay  our  war  expenses ;  but,  aside  from  this,  do  we 
not  owe  an  obligation  to  the  people  of  the  Philip- 
pines which  will  not  permit  us  to  return  them  to 
the  sovereignty  of  Spain?  Could  we  justify  our- 
selves in  such  a  course,  or  could  we  permit  their 
barter  to  some  other  power?  Willingly  or  not,  we 
have  the  responsibility  of  duty  which  we  cannot 
escape."  The  Commission  was  in  conclusion  j&- 
nally  and  definitely  instructed  to  demand  the  whole 
of  the  Philippine  Islands  and,  if  necessary,  pay 
Spain  from  $10,000,000  to  |20,000,000. 

The  humanitarian  argument  for  the  first  time  ap- 
peared in  the  course  of  this  proposal  to  take  all  the 
Philippines.  We  shall  hear  more  of  this  argument 
later  on.  The  commissioners  had  never  for  a 
moment  thought  of  the  future  of  the  Filipino 
people.  Everything  had  been  a  "  business  proposi- 
tion "  to  them.  Mr.  Gray's  objection  to  the  plan  of 
taking  the  Philippines  was  likewise  made  on  the 
purely  business  ground  that  it  would  not  pay  to 


40       THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

keep  the  Islands  and  that  it  was  a  dangerous  policy 
to  embark  upon  a  colonial  scheme.  The  other  com- 
missioners acted  —  and  rightly  —  simply  as  busi- 
ness agents  of  Mr.  McKinley  under  instructions, 
first,  to  demand  Luzon  and  then  the  whole  of  the 
Philippines.  After  hearing  the  information  fur- 
nished by  American  and  other  witnesses  who  had 
come  from  the  Islands,  most  of  the  commissioners 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  entire  archipelago 
should  be  taken.  "  It  was  first  thought,"  said  Mr. 
Davis,  "  that  it  w^ould  be  sufficient  for  naval  and 
strategic  purposes  to  take  the  island  of  Luzon  only ; 
but  the  best  military  and  naval  authorities  laid  the 
situation  before  us  from  a  military,  naval,  and  stra- 
tegic point  of  view,  and  made  it  perfectly  clear  that 
we  must  either  take  the  entire  archipelago  or  aban- 
don it  entirely ;  that  the  situs  of  those  islands  as  to 
each  other  was  such  that  the  acquisition  of  one, 
with  a  hostile  power,  or  a  foreign  power  of  what- 
ever disposition,  holding  any  of  the  others,  would 
only  reproduce  the  conditions  of  Cuba  as  against 
the  United  States  and  create  a  perpetual  threat  and 
danger  in  the  waters  of  the  East."  Besides  the 
strategic  point  referred  to.  Senator  Davis  added 
that  it  was  of  the  utmost  importance  that  the 
United  States  should  have  also  "  a  commanding 
commercial  position  "  in  the  waters  of  the  East  "  in 
view  of  the  astounding  changes  which  the  Chinese 


ACQUISITION  OF  THE  PHILIPPINES     41 

Empire  has  been  subjected  to  and  is  destined  to 
further  undergo."  "  I  am  interested  that  this 
country  shall  have  its  share  of  trade  of  that  great 
empire/'  continued  Senator  Davis.  "  California, 
Washington,  and  Oregon  have  scarcely  more  than 
two  millions  of  people.  I  want  to  see  the  com- 
mercial development  of  that  part  of  our  country 
expand  until  there  shall  be  twenty  millions  of  peo- 
ple there;  and  I  do  honestly  and  sincerely  believe, 
from  all  I  have  studied  and  thought  on  that  subject, 
that  the  retention  of  the  Philippine  Islands,  and 
their  adjustment  to  our  needs  and  destiny,  is  a 
necessary  and  indispensable  step  in  the  advance- 
ment to  which  I  have  so  alluded." 

In  accordance  with  the  final  instructions,  re- 
ceived by  the  commissioners  from  Washington, 
there  w^as  put  forward  an  ultimate  proposal  for 
the  cession  of  the  whole  archipelago  and  the  pay- 
ment by  the  United  States  of  |20,000,000.  Realiz- 
ing that  this  proposal  admitted  of  no  other  alter- 
native and  that  they  must  accept  it  or  break  off 
negotiations,  the  Spanish  commissioners  finally 
submitted  to  what  they  called  "  the  law  of  the  vic- 
tor "  and  on  November  29  formally  agreed  to  the 
proposal.  The  treaty  was  finally  signed  on  De- 
cember 10,  1898. 


.J  *" 


CHAPTER  III 

REFUSALS  TO  DISCLOSE  AMERICA'S  PURPOSE 

THE  peace  commissioners  returned  to  Amer- 
ica well  satisfied  with  the  work  they  had 
accomplished.  The  American  people  were  more  en- 
thusiastic than  ever  over  the  acquisition  of  the  Phil- 
ippines. President  McKinley  had  just  returned 
from  a  trip  through  the  Western  States,  where  he 
found  the  imperialistic  fever  at  its  height.  Every- 
where he  went  he  was  met  by  enthusiastic  crowds 
asking  that  he  should  never  haul  down  the  flag  at 
Manila.  It  might  have  been  thought  that  such  an 
attitude  was  out  of  place  in  the  progressive  States 
of  the  West  but,  as  one  American  writer  puts  it, 
breathing  the  spirit  of  pioneer  life,  with  the  cry  of 
"  Westward  ho !  "  of  the  days  of  prairie  migration 
still  ringing  in  their  ears,  they  were  more  prone  to 
^hail  Philippine  retention  with  alacrity,  thinking 
that  this  was  like  another  Louisiana  Purchase  and 
nothing  more.  In  the  heat  of  their  enthusiasm  the 
results  that  such  a  policy  might  entail  never  oc- 
curred to  them,  nor  was  serious  consideration  given 
the  fact  that  in  thus  acting  they  would  deprive  a 

42 


REFUSALS  TO  DISCLOSE  PURPOSE     43 

people  of  the  right  to  its  own  independent  existence. 
President  McKinley  returned  to  Washington  con- 
vinced that  the  entire  American  people  wanted  to 
retain  the  Islands,  and  he  thereupon  endeavored  to 
bring  about  that  result. 

After  the  holiday  recess  of  Congress  the  treaty 
was  submitted  to  the  Senate,  and  it  was  at  once  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Foreign  Relations. 
But  its  ratification  was  by  no  means  an  easy  task. 
Strong  opposition  had  already  arisen  in  the  Senate 
to  the  acquisition  of  the  Philippines.  As  Senator 
Lodge  cleverly  put  it,  the  complaint  against  the 
peace  commissioners  was  not  their  having  secured 
too  little  from  Spain,  but  their  having  secured  too 
much. 

There  were  several  objections  to  the  treaty.  One 
was  that  the  United  States  had  no  constitutional 
power  to  acquire  territories  for  the  purpose  of  gov- 
erning them  as  colonies.  It  was  argued,  on  the 
other  side,  that  the  constitutionality  of  the  treaty 
should  be  dealt  with  by  the  courts  and  not  by  the 
Senate.  Again  this  argument  was  answered  to  the 
effect  that  the  constitutional  purpose  of  any  an- 
nexation was  within  the  political  and  not  the  judi- 
cial jurisdiction  of  the  nation  and  that  the  govern- 
ment of  foreign  peoples  against  their  will  was  not 
a  constitutional  purpose  but  a  purpose  forbidden  in 
the  Constitution.     Just  two  days  after  the  signing 


44        THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

of  the  treaty  of  Paris,  Senator  Vest  introduced  a 
resolution  which  declared  that  under  the  Consti- 
tution the  United  States  Government  had  no  power 
"  to  acquire  territory  to  be  held  and  governed  per- 
manently as  colonies,"  for  all  territories  designed 
to  be  acquired  must  be  acquired  and  governed  "  with 
the  purpose  of  ultimately  organizing  such  territory 
into  States  suitable  for  admission  into  the  Union." 
Senator  Mason,  who  spoke  for  the  resolution,  con- 
tended that  the  United  States  Government  could 
not  acquire  any  territory  without  the  consent  of 
the  people  thereof,  for  governments  derive  their 
just  powers  from  the  consent  of  the  governed. 
Senator  Teller  replied  that  that  principle  held  good 
only  when  there  was  a  political  entity  in  the  terri- 
tory that  could  make  itself  heard.  "It  is  impos- 
sible," said  Senator  Teller,  "  to  treat  them  ( the 
Filipinos)  as  a  nation,  because  there  is  no  govern- 
ment there,  no  recognized  power  to  speak  for  them." 
Senator  Hoar's  position,  on  the  other  hand,  was 
that  there  was  a  native  political  entity  to  be  reck- 
oned with  in  the  Islands. 

But  it  was  evident  at  the  time  that,  to  the  ma- 
jority of  senators,  the  vital  question  was  not 
whether  there  was  such  a  thing  as  a  Philippine  na- 
tion or  not,  but  whether  the  United  States  were  to 
be  led  into  a  policy  of  colonization,  or  whether  they 
were  to  remain  true  to  their  traditional  policy  of 


KEFUSALS  TO  DISCLOSE  PURPOSE     45 

holding  no  peoples  whatever  as  subjects.  The  Ad- 
ministration was  not  prepared  to  favor  the  exten- 
sion to  the  Filipinos  of  American  citizenship,  yet 
it  persisted  in  the  desire  to  retain  the  Philippines 
indefinitely,  against  the  will  of  their  inhabitants. 
Whether  President  McKinley  admitted  it  or  not, 
that  was  certainly  an  imperialist  policy,  necessarily 
leading  to  the  establishment  of  an  American  colo- 
nial system.  Strong  opponents  of  such  a  course 
naturally  appeared.  They  called  themselves  Anti- 
imperialists.  They  contended  that  the  principles  of 
the  American  republic  and  the  holding  of  colonies 
were  incompatible ;  that  the  American  nation  could 
have  no  subjects  since  she  was  composed  of  free 
citizens;  that  their  Government  could  not  consist- 
ently rule  a  people  without  their  consent. 

In  order  to  save  America  from  such  a  policy,  the 
opponents  of  the  treaty  proposed  to  amend  it  or  to 
pass  a  resolution  declaring  that  the  Philippines 
would  be  ultimately,  if  not  immediately,  given 
their  independence.  They  declared  that  if  such  a 
resolution  were  to  be  passed  first  or  a  similar 
amendment  accepted,  they  would  support  the 
treaty.  A  number  of  resolutions  were  introduced 
to  accomplish  that  purpose,  chief  among  which  were 
those  of  Senator  Bacon,  which  read  as  follows : 

1.  That  the  Government  and  people  of  the  United 
States  have  not  waged  the  recent  war  with  Spain  for 


46       THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

conquest  and  for  the  acquisition  of  foreign  territory,  but 
solely  for  the  purpose  set  forth  in  the  resolution  of 
Congress  making  the  declaration  of  said  war,  the  acquisi- 
tion of  such  small  tracts  of  lands  or  harbors  as  may  be 
necessary  for  governmental  purposes  being  not  deemed 
inconsistent  with  the  same. 

2.  That  in  demanding  and  in  receiving  the  cession 
of  the  Philippine  Islands,  it  is  not  the  purpose  of  the 
Government  of  the  United  States  to  secure  and  main- 
tain dominion  over  the  same  as  a  part  of  the  territory 
of  the  United  States  or  to  incorporate  the  inhabitants 
thereof  as  citizens  of  the  United  States,  or  to  hold  said 
inhabitants  as  vassals  or  subjects  of  this  Government. 

3.  That  whereas  at  the  time  of  the  declaration  of  war 
by  the  United  States  against  Spain  and  prior  thereto, 
the  inhabitants  of  the  Philippine  Islands  were  actively 
engaged  in  war  with  Spain  to  achieve  their  independ- 
ence, and  whereas  said  purpose  and  the  military  opera- 
tions thereunder  have  not  been  abandoned  but  still  be- 
ing actively  prosecuted  thereunder;  therefore,  in  recog- 
nition and  in  obedience  to  the  vital  principle  announced 
in  the  great  declaration  that  * '  governments  derive  their 
just  powers  from  the  consent  of  the  governed, ' '  the  Gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States  recognizes  that  the  peo- 
ple of  the  Philippine  Islands  are,  and  of  a  right  ought 
to  be  free  and  independent;  that  with  this  view  and  to 
give  effect  to  the  same,  the  Government  of  the  United 
States  has  required  the  Government  of  Spain  to  relin- 
quish its  authority  and  government  in  the  Philippine 
Islands,  and  to  withdraw  its  land  and  naval  forces  from 
the  Philippine  Islands  and  from  the  waters  thereof. 

4.  That  the  United  States  hereby  disclaim  any  dis- 


REFUSALS  TO  DISCLOSE  PURPOSE     47 

position  or  intention  to  exercise  sovereignty,  jurisdic- 
tion, or  control  over  said  islands,  and  their  determina- 
tion when  a  stable  and  independent  Government  shall 
have  been  duly  erected  therein  entitled  to  recognition 
as  such,  to  transfer  to  such  Government,  upon  terms 
which  shall  be  reasonable  and  just,  all  rights  secured 
under  the  cession  by  Spain,  and  to  thereupon  leave  the 
government  and  control  of  the  Islands  to  their  people. 

Many  of  the  opponents  of  ratification  felt  that 
the  treaty  was  an  injustice  to  the  Filipinos  and 
therefore  opposed  it.  They  did  not  understand  why 
the  Cubans  should  be  treated  differently  from  the 
Filipinos,  more  so  when  Admiral  Dewey  repeatedly 
asserted  that  the  Filipinos  were  better  qualified  for 
self-government  than  the  Cubans.  "  Tell  me  why," 
asked  Senator  Mason,  "  we  should  adopt  one  plan 
for  Cuba  and  another  for  the  Philippines?  Do  you 
say  with  the  explosionists  —  I  mean  the  expansion- 
ists —  We  promised  we  would  not  steal  Cuba,  but 
we  did  not  promise  not  to  steal  the  Philippines? 
Do  you  say  with  Shylock,  Is  it  so  nominated  in 
the  bond?  You  remember  Jack  in  the  Two  Or- 
phans was  charged  with  stealing  a  coat.  He  said, 
*  You  lie ;  it  was  a  cloak.'  Will  you  tell  me,  please, 
how  grand  larceny  and  criminal  aggression  in  Cuba 
become  high  Christian  civilization  in  the  Philip- 
pines? Is  there  some  place  in  the  Pacific  Ocean 
where  we  change  the  code  of  ethics  and  good  morals 


48        THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

as  we  change  the  calendar  and  the  ship's  clock  in 
crossing?  " 

There  were  senators  and  congressmen  who  were 
fearful  lest  the  ratification  of  the  treaty  might  mean 
the  introduction  of  the  Filipino  people  into  the 
American  body  politic.  The  very  idea  was  repug- 
nant to  them.  Senator  jMcLaurin,  for  instance,  de- 
clared that  he  was  entirely  against  "  the  incorpora- 
tion of  a  mongrel  and  semi-barbarous  population 
into  our  body  politic,"  a  population  that,  so  far  as 
he  could  ascertain,  "  is  inferior  to,  but  akin  to,  the 
Negro  in  moral  and  intellectual  qualities  and  in 
capacity  for  self-government."  Senator  White,  on 
January  23,  1899,  expressed  similar  abhorrence  at 
the  idea  of  annexing  a  land  tenanted  by  "  an  heter- 
ogeneous compound  of  ineflScient  Oriental  human- 
ity. If  they  were  so  fitted,  they  should  be  permitted 
to  establish  a  free  government;  if  they  are  not  so 
fitted,  they  should  not  be  brought  into  an  alliance 
with  us ;  we  do  not  in  that  event  want  them.  Those 
who  are  incompetent  to  control  themselves  should 
not  be  of  us." 

In  the  meanwhile  the  situation  in  the  Philippines 
was  growing  every  day  more  delicate  and  compli- 
cated. Even  admitting  that  no  definite  promise  to 
recognize  Philippine  independence  had  ever  been 
authorized  by  the  government,  the  American  rep- 
resentatives in  the  Orient  certainly  acted,  to  say  the 


REFUSALS  TO  DISCLOSE  PURPOSE     49 

very  least,  in  a  way  that  would  certainly  assure, 
and  did  assure,  the  Filipinos  that  the  United  States 
had  no  desire  to  acquire  the  Philippines  but  rather 
wished  to  help  the  people  to  obtain  their  independ- 
ence. How  could  they  have  acted  otherwise  when 
they  knew  full  well  that  the  Spanish-American  War 
was  waged  for  the  humanitarian  purpose  of  free- 
ing Cuba?  When  those  American  representatives 
found  out  that  their  Government  had  a  different 
intention  toward  the  Philippines,  they  naturally 
changed  their  attitude  toward  the  Filipinos  into 
one  of  sudden  frigid  indifference  approaching  hos- 
tility. American  soldiers  were  arriving  in  the 
Islands,  and  the  Filipinos  were  becoming  ap- 
prehensive every  day  concerning  America's  real 
intent.  The  famous  "  benevolent  assimilation " 
manifesto  of  December  21, 1898,  issued  by  President 
McKinley,  already  claiming  sovereignty  over  the 
Philippines  even  before  the  ratification  of  the 
treaty  of  Paris,  confirmed  the  suspicion  of  the  Fili- 
pino people.  This  warlike  attitude  of  the  Admin- 
istration toward  the  Filipinos  was  viewed  with 
alarm  by  many  senators.  Legally,  the  protocol  of 
peace,  signed  on  August  12, 1898,  was  still  in  force, 
pending  the  ratification  of  the  treaty,  and  the 
United  States  had  no  authority  to  claim  sover- 
eignty over  the  Philippines,  much  less  to  wage  war 
on  the  Filipinos.     On  January  11,  1899,  Senator 


50       THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

Allen  introduced  a  resolution  declaring  that  "  any 
aggressive  action  by  army  or  navy  on  the  part  of 
the  United  States  against  the  Filipinos  would  be 
an  act  of  war  unwarranted  on  the  part  of  the  Presi- 
dent and  the  exercise  of  constitutional  power  vested 
exclusively  in  Congress."  Senator  Bacon  saw 
across  the  ocean  the  situation  in  Manila  laden  with 
trouble.  "  While  there  is  no  declaration  of  war," 
he  said,  "  while  there  is  no  avowal  of  hostile  intent, 
with  two  such  armies  fronting  each  other  with  such 
diverse  intents  and  resolves,  it  will  take  but  a  spark 
to  ignite  the  magazine  which  is  to  explode."  * 
There  was,  therefore,  in  the  opinion  of  Mr.  Bacon, 
an  urgent  necessity  to  declare  the  intention  of  the 
United  States  towards  the  Filipinos.  "  They  are 
opposed  to  the  occupation  of  their  islands  by  the 
United  States  troops,"  exclaimed  the  Senator,  "  be- 
cause of  the  apprehension  that  it  is  the  purpose  of 
the  United  States  Government  to  maintain  per- 
manent dominion  over  those  islands ;  and  whenever 
we  shall,  by  such  resolutions  as  these,  say  solemnly 
to  the  world  that  such  is  not  our  purpose,  there  is 
no  longer  any  danger  or  difficulty." 

At  last  on  January  25,  it  was  agreed  that  a  vote 
on  the  treaty  should  take  place  on  February  6.  The 
opponents  of  ratification  were  quite  confident  that 

iThe  opening  of  hostilities  on  February  4  showed  how  true 
was  this  prophecy. 


REFUSALS  TO  DISCLOSE  PURPOSE     51 

the  Administration  could  not  carry  two  thirds.  In 
the  midst  of  this  struggle  Mr.  Bryan  came  to  Wash- 
ington and  urged  the  Democratic  senators  to  sup- 
port the  treaty.  Mr.  Bryan  contended  that  the 
treaty  committed  the  United  States  to  no  policy  and 
that  after  the  ratification  the  issue  of  imperialism 
should  he  brought  before  the  American  people  for 
decision.  "  The  ratification  of  the  treaty,"  he 
said,  "  instead  of  committing  the  United  States  to 
a  colonial  policy,  really  clears  the  way  for  the 
recognition  of  a  Philippine  Republic.  Lincoln,  in 
his  first  inaugural  message,  condensed  an  unan- 
swerable argument  into  a  brief  question  when  he 
asked,  *  Can  aliens  make  treaties  easier  than  friends 
can  make  laws?'  The  same  argument  is  repre- 
sented in  the  question,  Could  the  independence  of 
the  Filipinos  be  secured  more  easily  by  diplomacy 
from  a  foreign  and  hostile  nation  than  it  can 
through  laws  passed  by  Congress  and  voicing  the 
sentiments  of  the  American  people?  If  independ- 
ence is  more  desirable  to  our  people  than  a  co- 
lonial policy,  who  is  there  or  what  is  there  to  pre- 
vent the  recognition  of  Philippine  independence? 
It  is  absurd  to  say  that  the  United  States  can  be 
transformed  from  a  republic  into  an  empire  with- 
out consulting  the  voters."  ^ 

This  step  of  Mr.  Bryan's  was  resented  by  many 

2  At  the  Democratic  Banquet,  Saint  Paul,  Minn.,  February  14, 
1899. 


52       THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

opponents  of  the  treaty.  Senators  Hoar  and 
Turner  were  specially  strong  in  their  disapproval 
of  Mr.  Bryan's  position.  They  maintained  that 
the  main  issue  was  the  ratification  of  the  treaty,  for 
such  ratification  would  commit  the  United  States 
to  a  policy  of  indefinite  retention.  "  We  have  cov- 
enanted with  Spain,"  contended  Senator  Turner, 
"  to  admit  her  ships  and  merchandise  to  the  ports 
of  the  Philippine  Islands  on  the  same  terms  as  our 
own  for  the  period  of  ten  years.  We  have  made 
divers  and  sundry  stipulations,  having  no  limita- 
tion of  time,  for  the  security  of  property  and  indi- 
vidual right  in  all  territory  ceded  or  relinquished 
by  Spain,  including  ecclesiastical  property,  which 
necessarily  presupposes  continued  sovereignty. 
We  have  made  stipulations  concerning  judicial  pro- 
ceedings, which  presupposes  the  same  thing.  We 
have  covenanted  to  admit  certain  articles  of  Span- 
ish production  free  of  duty  in  the  Philippines  for 
ten  years.  And,  finally,  we  limit  these  limitations 
so  far  as  they  apply  to  Cuba  to  the  time  of  our 
occupancy  of  that  island,  but  we  make  no  such 
limitation  concerning  the  Philippines."  ^ 

The  speech  of  Senator  Lodge  was  probably  the 
ablest  presentation  of  those  who  favored  ratifica- 
tion. He  appealed  to  the  wisdom  and  patriotism 
of  the  American  people,  to  whom,  he  said,  could  be 

3  Speech  in  the  Senate,  January  19,  1899. 


KEFUSALS  TO  DISCLOSE  PURPOSE     53 

left  the  final  decision  of  the  future  of  the  Philip- 
pines. He  virtually  told  the  opponents  of  the 
treaty  that  the  time  for  deciding  the  question  of 
policy  would  be  after  the  ratification.  He  said  in 
part: 

There  is  only  one  question  demanding  actual  and  im- 
mediate decision  now  before  Congress  and  people,  and 
that  is  whether  the  treaty  with  Spain  shall  be  ratified 
or  not.  I  have  heard  no  opposition  expressed  to  any 
part  of  the  treaty  except  such  portion  of  it  as  relates  to 
the  Philippines,  and  that,  therefore,  is  the  sole  point 
upon  which  I  desire  to  touch.  In  our  war  with  Spain 
we  conquered  the  Philippines,  or,  to  put  it  more  exactly, 
we  destroyed  the  power  of  Spain  in  those  islands  and 
took  possession  of  their  capital.  The  treaty  ceded  the 
Philippines  to  us.  It  is  wisely  and  skilfully  drawn.  It 
commits  us  to  no  policy,  to  no  course  of  action  whatever 
in  regard  to  the  Philippines. 

When  that  treaty  is  ratified  we  have  full  power  and 
are  absolutely  free  to  do  with  those  islands  as  we  please, 
and  the  opposition  to  its  ratification  may  be  summed  up 
in  a  single  sentence  —  that  the  American  people  and 
the  American  Congress  are  not  to  be  trusted  with  that 
power  and  with  that  freedom  of  action  in  regard  to  the 
inhabitants  of  those  distant  islands.  Every  one  of  the 
resolutions  thus  far  offered  on  this  subject  is  an  ex- 
pression of  distrust  in  the  future  and  in  our  dealings 
with  other  people.  It  is  a  well-meant  effort  to  make  us 
give  bonds  to  Fate  by  means  of  a  congressional  resolu- 
tion. 

We  must  either  ratify  the  treaty  or  reject  it,  for 


54        THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

I  cannot  suppose  that  any  one  would  seriously  advance 
the  proposition  that  we  should  amend  the  treaty  in  such 
a  way  as  to  make  pledges  to  Spain,  and  Spain  alone,  and 
give  bonds  to  Spain,  and  Spain  alone,  for  our  good  con- 
duct in  a  matter  which  will  be  wholly  our  own  to  de- 
cide. Let  us  look,  then,  at  the  two  alternatives.  Sup- 
pose we  ratify  the  treaty.  The  Islands  pass  from  the 
possession  of  Spain  into  our  possession  without  commit- 
ting us  to  any  policy.  I  believe  we  can  be  trusted  as  a 
people  to  deal  honestly  and  justly  with  the  Islands  and 
their  inhabitants  thus  given  to  our  care.  What  our  pre- 
cise policy  shall  be  I  do  not  know,  because  I  for  one  am 
not  sufficiently  informed  as  to  the  conditions  there  to 
be  able  to  say  what  it  will  be  best  to  do;  nor,  I  may 
add,  do  I  think  any  one  is.  But  I  believe  that  we  shall 
have  wisdom  not  to  attempt  to  incorporate  those  islands 
with  our  body  politic,  or  make  their  inhabitants  part  of 
our  citizenship,  or  set  their  labor  alongside  of  ours  and 
within  our  tariff  to  compete  in  any  industry  with  Amer- 
ican workmen. 

It  is  for  us  to  decide  the  destiny  of  the  Philippines, 
not  for  Europe ;  and  we  can  do  it  alone  and  without  as- 
sistance. 

Take,  now,  the  other  alternative.  Suppose  we  re- 
ject the  treaty  or  strike  out  the  clause  relating  to  the 
Philippines.  That  will  hand  the  Islands  back  to  Spain, 
and  I  cannot  conceive  that  any  American  should  be 
willing  to  do  that.  Suppose  we  reject  the  treaty,  what 
follows?  Let  us  look  at  it  practically.  We  continue 
the  state  of  war,  and  every  sensible  man  in  the  coun- 
try, every  business  interest,  desires  the  reestablishment 
of  peace  in  law  as  well  as  in  fact.     At  the  same  time 


REFUSALS  TO  DISCLOSE  PURPOSE     55 

we  repudiate  the  President  and  his  action  before  the 
whole  world,  and  the  repudiation  of  the  President  in 
such  matter  as  this,  is,  to  my  mind,  the  humiliation  of 
the  United  States  in  the  eyes  of  civilized  mankind  and 
brands  us  as  a  people  incapable  of  treating  affairs  or 
of  taking  rank  where  we  belong  as  one  of  the  greatest  of 
the  great  world  powers. 

At  last  the  decisive  day,  the  6th  day  of  February, 
arrived.  Every  attempt  to  pass  any  of  the  resolu- 
tions declaring  America's  purpose  towards  the  Is- 
lands had  failed.  Many  of  those  who  would  other- 
wise have  opposed  retention  took  the  view  expressed 
in  Mr.  Lodge's  speech.  They  did  not  want  to  give 
"  bonds  to  Spain  "  for  their  "  good  conduct "  in  a 
matter  wholly  their  own  to  decide.  They  were 
promised  that  once  the  legal  title  to  the  Philippines 
was  secure,  the  Senate  would  immediately  proceed 
to  decide  what  should  be  done  to  the  Islands.  Two 
days  before  the  day  set  for  the  vote  on  the  treaty, 
the  Filipino- American  War  broke  out,  the  Filipinos, 
it  was  claimed,  having  treacherously  began  the  hos- 
tilities. This,  together  with  Mr.  Bryan's  support, 
decided  the  fate  of  the  treaty.  In  spite,  however, 
of  this  favorable  turn  of  events  for  the  supporters 
of  the  treaty,  when  the  Senate  met  in  executive  ses- 
sion on  February  6,  the  Administration  was  not 
sure  of  victory.  It  needed  two  thirds  of  the  votes, 
and  it  had  only  58  sure  votes,  29  being  against,  the 


56 


THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 


remaining  3  doubtful.  Within  an  hour  two  of  the 
doubtful  votes  were  declared  to  be  for  the  treaty, 
and  the  third  was  cast  for  it  after  two  roll  calls,  the 
final  vote  being  61-29  (including  pairs).  There 
was  only  one  vote  to  spare.'* 
The  vote  was  as  follows: 


FOB  RATIFICATION 

Aldrich 

Faulkner 

MeBride 

Ross 

Allen 

Foraker 

McEnery 

Sewell 

Allison 

Frye 

McLaurin 

Shoup 

Baker 

Gallinger 

McMillan 

Simon 

Burrows 

Gear 

Mantle 

Spooner 

Butler 

Gray 

Mason 

Stewart 

Carter 

Hanna 

Morgan 

Sullivan 

Chandler 

Hansbrough 

Nelson 

Teller 

Clark 

Harris 

Penrose 

Thurston 

Clay 

Hawley 

Perkins 

Warren 

Cullom 

Jones  (Ne- 

Pettus 

Wellington 

vada) 

Piatt  (Conn.) 

Wolcott 

Davis 

Kenney 

Piatt  (New 

Debo© 

Kyle 

York) 

Elkins 

Lindsay 

Pritchard 

Fairbanks 

Lodge 

Quay 

Total  57 

AGAINST  RATIFICATION 

Bacon 

Chilton 

Hale 

Mallory 

Bate 

Cockrell 

Heitfeld 

Martin 

Berry 

Daniel 

Hoar 

Mills 

Caffery 

Gorman 

Jones  (Ar- 
kansas) 

Mitchell 

*  Lodge,  War  toith  Spain,  p.  23. 


REFUSALS  TO  DISCLOSE  PURPOSE      57 


Money 

Pettigrew 

Smith 

Turner 

Murphy 

Rawkins 

Tillman 

Vest 

Pasco 

Roach 

Turley 

Total  27 


ABSENT   AND   PAIRED 


Messrs.  Cannon  and  Wilson,  for,  with  Mr.  White, 
against,  and  Messrs.  Proctor  and  Wetmore,  for,  with 
Mr.  Turpie,  against. 

So  the  title  —  such  as  it  was  —  of  the  United 
States  to  the  Philippines  was  completed.  Ameri- 
can annexation  became  an  accomplished  fact. 
There  are  differences  of  opinion  as  to  whether  Mr. 
Bryan's  influence  did  change  some  Democratic 
votes.  Senator  Hoar  was  positive  that  it  did,  while 
Mr.  Erving  Winslow,  of  the  Anti-Imperialist 
League,  believes  that  what  changed  the  deciding 
votes  was  the  outbreak  in  Manila  two  days  before. 

Immediately  after  the  ratification  the  opponents 
of  colonization  endeavored  to  press  for  action  the 
series  of  resolutions  that  had  been  presented  before 
the  ratification.  It  was  agreed  to  take  up  first  the 
resolution  introduced  by  Mr.  McEnery,  w^hich  was 
as  follows: 

Resolved  hy  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives, 
etc.  That  by  the  ratification  of  the  treaty  of  peace  with 
Spain  it  is  not  intended  to  incorporate  the  inhabitants 
of  said  islands  into  citizenship  of  the  United  States,  nor 
is  it  intended  to  permanently  annex  said  islands  as  an 


58       THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

integral  part  of  the  territory  of  the  United  States.  But 
it  is  the  intention  of  the  United  States  to  establish  on 
said  islands  a  government  suitable  to  the  wants  and  con- 
ditions of  the  inhabitants  of  said  islands,  to  prepare  them 
for  local  self-government,  and  in  due  time  to  make  such 
disposition  of  said  islands  as  will  best  promote  the  inter- 
ests of  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  and  the  inhabi- 
tants of  said  islands. 

This  resolution  was  not  by  any  means  satisfactory 
to  the  opponents  of  colonialism.  It  did  not  prom- 
ise independence  and  was  very  vague  as  to  the  final 
disposition  of  the  Islands.  Senator  Bacon  there- 
upon offered  the  following  amendment: 

Resolved,  further,  That  the  United  States  hereby  dis- 
claim any  disposition  or  intention  to  exercise  perma- 
nent sovereignty,  jurisdiction,  or  control  over  said 
islands,  and  assert  their  determination,  when  a  stable 
and  independent  Government  shall  have  been  erected 
therein,  entitled  in  the  judgment  of  the  Government  of 
the  United  States  to  recognition  as  such,  to  transfer  to 
said  Government,  upon  terms  which  shall  be  reasonable 
and  just,  all  rights  secured  under  the  cession  by  Spain, 
and  to  thereupon  leave  the  government  and  control  of 
the  Islands  to  their  people. 

Here  was  the  issue,  plainly  put,  whether  the  Phil- 
ippines were  to  be  ultimately  independent  or  not. 
Unfortunately  the  Filipino-American  War  had 
started  and  this  afforded  a  reason  for  refraining 
to  announce  any  definite  policy.     "  We  will  not  tell 


REFUSALS  TO  DISCLOSE  PURPOSE     59 

the  Filipinos  what  we  propose  to  do  with  them, 
until  they  lay  down  their  arms,"  was  the  argument 
now  advanced  by  the  advocates  of  Philippine  reten- 
tion. In  vain  did  that  gallant  defender  of  Filipino 
rights.  Senator  Hoar,  in  reply  to  such  arguments, 
thunder  in  the  Senate : 

Was  it  ever  heard  before  that  a  civilized,  human,  and 
Christian  nation  made  war  upon  a  people  and  refused  to 
tell  them  what  they  wanted  of  them  ?  You  refuse  to  tell 
these  people  this  year  or  next  year  or  perhaps  for  twenty 
years,  whether  you  mean  in  the  end  to  deprive  them  of 
their  independence  or  no.  You  say  you  want  them  to 
submit.  To  submit  to  what?  To  mere  military  force? 
But  for  what  purpose  or  for  what  end  is  that  military 
force  to  be  exerted?  You  decline  to  tell  them.  Not 
only  you  decline  to  say  what  you  want  of  them,  except 
bare  and  abject  surrender,  but  you  will  not  even  let  them 
tell  you  what  they  ask  of  you. 

The  vote  on  the  Bacon  Amendment  was  a  tie,  and 
Vice-President  Hobart  defeated  it  with  his  decid- 
ing vote,  the  original  McEnery  resolution  being  fi- 
nally adopted.  The  House,  however,  failed  to  act 
on  it,  and  so  it  died  a  premature  death. 

Thus  the  Filipinos  were  again  left  at  sea  as  to 
their  ultimate  and  definite  political  status.^ 

6  "  One  vote,  more  than  once,  would  have  saved  the  country 
from  what  I  think  is  its  wretched  policy  in  regard  to  the 
Philippine  Islands.  There  was  just  one  vote  to  spare  when 
the  Spanish  treaty  was  ratified.  One  senator  waited  before 
voting  until  the  roll-call  was  over  and  the  list  of  the  votes 


60       THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

read  by  the  clerk,  before  he  finally  voted  for  the  treaty.  He 
said  he  did  not  wish  to  butt  his  head  against  the  sentiment 
of  his  State  if  he  could  do  no  good ;  but  if  his  vote  would 
defeat  it,  he  should  vote  against  it.  If  there  had  been  one 
less  vote,  his  vote  would  have  defeated  it.  The  treaty  would 
have  been  lost,  in  my  opinion,  if  Senator  Gray,  one  of  the 
commissioners  who  made  it,  who  earnestly  protested  against 
it,  but  afterwards  supported  it,  had  not  been  a  member  of  the 
commission.  The  resolution  of  Mr.  Bacon,  declaring  our  pur- 
pose to  recognize  the  independence  of  the  Philipi)ine  people, 
if  they  desired  it,  was  lost  by  a  single  vote.  The  Philippine 
treaty  would  have  been  lost  but  for  Mr.  Bryan's  interposition 
In  its  behalf.  It  would  have  been  defeated,  in  my  judgment, 
if  Speaker  Reed,  a  man  second  in  influence  and  in  power  in  this 
country  to  President  McKinley  alone,  had  seen  it  to  be  his 
duty  to  remain  in  public  life,  and  lead  the  fight  against  it." 
—  Hoar,  Autobiography  of  Seventy  Years,  Vol.  II,  p.  110. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  PROTEST  OF  THE  FILIPINOS 

SOON  after  the  establishment  of  the  Philip- 
pine Revolutionary  Government  at  Malolos 
under  the  presidency  of  General  Aguinaldo,  a 
commission  was  appointed  to  work  abroad  for  the 
recognition  by  the  other  nations  of  the  Philippine 
Republic.  This  commission  was  composed  of 
Felipe  Agoncillo,  president ;  General  Emilio  Riego 
de  Dios,  vice-president;  Gregorio  Araneta,  secre- 
tary; Benito  Legarda,  Juan  Luna,  Jos6  Lozada, 
Pedro  P.  Roxas,  Antonio  Regidor,  Felix  Roxas, 
and  Jose  Albert,  members. 

Mr.  Agoncillo  proceeded  at  once  to  Paris  to  rep- 
resent the  interests  of  the  Filipinos  before  the 
treaty  conference;  but  the  peace  commissioners  re- 
fused to  see  him.  As  we  have  seen  in  the  foregoing 
chapters,  the  American  commissioners  acted  more  in 
the  capacity  of  business  agents  of  the  Washington 
Government  with  the  mission  of  securing  the  best 
terms  for  the  United  States.  The  interests  of  the 
Filipino  people  did  not  enter  into  their  minds  at 

61 


62       THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

all.  Upon  the  signing  of  the  treaty,  Mr.  Agoncillo 
entered  a  formal  protest,  but  to  no  avail.  He 
thereupon  set  out  for  Washington  to  see  if  some 
understanding  could  be  had  with  the  American 
Government.  Upon  reaching  Washington,  he  se- 
cured the  legal  services  of  Attorney  Jackson  H. 
Ralston,  an  able  attorney  of  the  city. 

On  January  5,  1899,  Mr.  Agoncillo's  secretary, 
Mr.  Sixto  Lopez,  addressed  a  letter  to  the  Secre- 
tary of  State  requesting  that  Mr.  Agoncillo  be  ac- 
corded the  privilege  of  an  audience  with  him  to  ar- 
range for  the  presentation  to  the  President  of  the 
envoy's  letters  of  credentials,  and  suggesting  the 
advisability  of  an  understanding  between  the  re- 
spective nations.  Inclosed  in  the  letter  was  a  mem- 
orandum on  the  Philippine  Republic.  In  reply  to 
this,  not  even  a  letter  of  acknowledgment  was  re- 
ceived, and  on  January  11,  another  letter  was  sent 
to  the  Secretary  of  State,  this  time  signed  by  Mr. 
Agoncillo  himself.  "  In  view  of  the  present  status 
of  affairs  in  the  Philippine  Islands,"  wrote  Mr. 
Agoncillo,  "and  the  fact  that  in  the  present 
strained  position,  the  impetuous  action  of  a  Fili- 
pino or  the  overzeal  of  an  American  soldier,  acts 
based  on  the  impulse  of  the  moment,  may  create  a 
condition  resulting  in  grievous  loss  of  life,  as  well 
as  a  memory  that  both  nations  might  carry  with 


THE  PKOTEST  OF  THE  FILIPINOS     63 

them  for  years,  I  again  urge  upon  you  the  necessity 
of  early  and  frank  communication  between  the  rep- 
resentatives of  the  countries  in  question."  No  an- 
swer having  been  received  to  this  letter  and  trouble 
between  Filipinos  and  Americans  looming  ever 
larger  and  larger  in  Manila,  Mr.  Agoncillo  again, 
on  January  24,  addressed  a  communication  to  the 
Secretary  of  State  confirming  his  earlier  fear  that 
the  amassing  of  American  troops  in  the  Islands 
while  no  understanding  was  reached  between  the 
two  Governments  was  fast  creating  an  actual  con- 
dition of  war.  Mr.  Agoncillo's  letters  were  entirely 
ignored.  The  newspapers  even  had  it  that  no  such 
communications  were  ever  received  in  the  state 
department.  On  January  30,  a  memorial  was  sent 
to  the  Secretary  of  State  with  the  request  that  it 
be  presented  to  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  the 
fight  as  to  the  treaty  being  then  at  its  height  in 
the  Senate.  This  document  was  perhaps  the  most 
interesting  of  all  the  state  papers  issued  by  the 
Filipino  junta  on  behalf  of  the  Filipino  people. 
It  sets  forth  the  history  of  the  relations  between 
the  Americans  and  Filipinos  and  the  grounds  upon 
which  the  Philippine  Republic  based  its  claim  for 
recognition.  In  order  to  know  the  exact  position 
of  the  Filipino  people,  a  close  perusal  of  it  is  nec- 
essary.   It  is  as  follows : 


64       THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

Memorial  to  the  Senate  op  the  United  States 

accompanying  letter  to  the  secretary  of  state 

op  date  january  30,  1899 

The  interest  of  my  country  requires,  because  of  the 
pendency  of  the  peace  treaty  before  your  honorable  body, 
that  I  present  to  you  some  considerations  bearing  upon 
the  relations  between  the  United  States  and  the  Philip- 
piue  Islands. 

It  would  be  impertinent  in  me,  and  I  shall  not  at- 
tempt, to  make  any  suggestions  relative  to  the  treatment 
of  the  documents  in  question.  At  the  same  time,  I  must 
be  understood  as  protesting  as  the  representative  of  the 
independent  Philippiue  Republic  that  the  United  States 
has  no  jurisdiction,  natural  or  acquired,  through  any  of 
its  agencies  to  adjudicate  in  any  manner  upon  the  rights 
of  my  country  and  people.  The  fact  remains,  however, 
that  action  is  contemplated,  which,  we  are  informed,  is 
proposed,  if  deemed  necessary,  to  be  the  basis  of  military 
operations  against  the  latest  addition  to  the  republics  of 
the  world,  such  action  being,  as  I  shall  herein  point  out, 
without  foundation  in  justice. 

Lest  it  may  be  thought  in  addressing  you,  I  am  ex- 
ceeding the  just  rights  of  those  whom  I  have  the  honor 
to  represent,  I  may  be  pardoned  for  calling  your  atten- 
tion to  the  fact  that  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  provides  in  substance  that  no  person,  howsoever 
humble  he  may  be,  shall  be  deprived  of  his  life,  liberty, 
or  property,  except  by  due  process  of  law  —  meaning 
after  the  preferment  of  charges,  their  careful  examina- 
tion by  a  tribunal  competent,  and  of  acknowledged  au- 
thority to  deal  therewith,  and  at  a  trial  where  the  ac- 


THE  PROTEST  OF  THE  FILIPINOS     65 

cused  or  defendant  may  be  present  in  person  or  by 
attorney.  This  constitutional  declaration  is  not  the 
origin,  but  the  expression  of  a  principle  —  a  right  in- 
herent in  the  nature  of  things  —  and  which  receives  no 
added  moral  sanctity  because  of  its  recognition  in  writ- 
ten papers,  and  is  of  no  less  application  because  circum- 
stances require  it  to  be  called  into  play  by  a  nation  seek- 
ing the  recognition  of  its  independence. 

I  cannot  believe  that  in  any  possible  action  on  the 
part  of  the  American  republic  towards  my  country  there 
is  an  intent  to  ignore,  as  to  the  ten  millions  of  human 
beings  I  represent,  the  right  the  free  government  of 
America  preserves  to  the  lowliest  of  her  inhabitants; 
but  rather  prefer  to  think  that  in  the  rush  of  arms  this 
right  for  a  moment  may  have  been  obscured  in  the  minds 
of  some  of  America's  liberty-loving  and  enlightened  citi- 
zens. 

My  justification  for  addressing  you  is  that  I  am 
solicitous,  lest  by  any  inadvertence  or  omission  of  my 
own,  a  specious  foundation  may  be  laid,  by  virtue  of 
which  the  rights  of  my  countrymen  may  be  jeopardized 
and  injuries  inflicted  upon  them,  redounding  here- 
after, with  added  force,  against  the  well-being  of  Amer- 
ica. 

In  presenting  the  considerations  I  desire  now  to  sub- 
mit, it  seems  necessary  for  me  first  to  refer  to  the  his- 
torical fact  that  a  large  number  of  my  countrymen  have 
never  been  subdued  by  Spanish  power,  and,  as  against 
their  liberties,  the  oppressive  arm  of  Spain  has  never 
been  able  to  sustain  itself;  that  the  remainder,  because 
of  their  adhesion  to  the  cause  of  liberty,  have  been  in 
almost  constant  insurrection  against  the  Government  of 


66       THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

Spain;  these  conflicts  existing  continuously  with  greater 
or  less  fury  for  the  past  hundred  years. 

The  impression  has  been  created  in  America  that  at 
the  time  of  the  declaration  of  war  between  America  and 
Spain,  the  Philippine  revolution  no  longer  existed. 
Upon  this  point  I  may  not  appeal  to  the  authority  of  my 
countrymen  for  contradiction,  but  prefer  to  invite  your 
attention  to  a  letter  written  by  Mr.  Williams,  United 
States  consul-general  at  Manila,  under  date  of  March  28, 
1898: 

"  Rebellion  never  more  threatening  to  Spain.  Rebels 
getting  arms,  money,  and  friends  and  they  outnumber 
the  Spaniards,  resident  and  soldiery,  probably  a  hun- 
dred to  one." 

Again  on  March  31,  1898,  he  wrote  referring  to  the 
then  condition  of  the  conflict: 

**  The  British  shipmaster  there  (at  Cape  Bolinao)  at 
the  time  reports  about  forty  killed  and  forty  wounded. 
After  surrender,  the  Spanish  put  the  dead  and  wounded 
together  in  a  house  and  by  burning  cremated  all." 

Under  the  same  date  he  writes  of  the  desertion  of  an 
entire  regiment  of  the  Spanish  forces  to  the  insurgents, 
saying  further: 

"  Now  five  thousand  armed  rebels,  which  for  days  have 
been  in  camp  near  Manila  and  have  been  reinforced  from 
the  mountains,  plan  to  attack  the  city  to-night.  All  is 
excitement  and  life  uncertain." 

On  April  28,  1898,  Mr.  Pratt  wrote  a  letter  to  Mr. 
Day  in  which  he  speaks  of  **  learning  from  General 
Aguinaldo  the  state  and  object  sought  to  be  obtained  by 
the  present  insurrectionary  movement,  which,  though  ab- 
sent from  the  Philippines,  he  was  still  directing." 


THE  PROTEST  OF  THE  FILIPINOS     6T 

Without  additional  authority,  it  must  be  evident  to 
your  honorable  body  that  an  extensive  revolution  existed 
in  the  Philippine  Islands  at  the  time  of  the  declaration 
of  war  by  America  against  Spain. 

This  revolutionary  movement  found  at  its  head  Gen- 
eral Aguinaldo,  now  President  of  the  Philippine  Re- 
public, of  whom  Mr.  Pratt  wrote  Mr.  Day:  "  General 
Aguinaldo  impressed  me  as  a  man  of  intellectual  abil- 
ity, courage,  and  worthy  of  the  confidence  that  had  been 
placed  in  him,"  while  again  he  said  that  **  no  close  ob- 
server of  what  has  transpired  in  the  Philippines  dur- 
ing the  past  four  years  could  have  failed  to  recognize 
that  General  Aguinaldo  enjoyed,  above  all  others,  the 
confidence  of  the  Philippine  insurgents  and  the  respect 
alike  of  the  Spanish  and  foreigners  in  the  Islands,  all 
of  which  vouched  for  his  justice  and  high  sense  of 
honor  ";  and  Mr.  Williams  wrote  Mr.  Moore  on  July 
18,  1898 :  * '  General  Aguinaldo,  Agoncillo,  and  Sandieo 
are  all  men  who  would  all  be  leaders  in  their  separate 
departments  in  any  country." 

The  purpose  of  the  Filipino  patriots  in  conducting 
this  revolution  was  to  secure  the  complete  independ- 
ence of  their  country,  and  in  this  effort  they  achieved 
the  encouragement  of  the  United  States ;  and  were  never 
informed  that  the  obtention  and  preservation  of  such 
independence  would  be  regarded  as  a  hostile  act  by 
America,  and  they  never  believed  that  their  struggle  in 
such  a  cause  would  lead  to  enormous  aggregations  of 
American  armies  and  navies  at  their  doors. 

As  early  as  May  20,  1898,  Mr.  Pratt  inclosed  to  Mr. 
Day  the  manifesto  of  the  Filipinos;  beginning  as  fol- 
lows: 


68       THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

**  Compatriots:  Divine  Providence  is  about  to  place 
independence  within  our  reach,  and  in  a  way  a  free  and 
independent  nation  could  hardly  wish  for." 

Had  the  United  States  declared  or  intended  that  the 
victory  of  the  Filipinos  when  gained,  should,  like  Dead 
Sea  fruit,  turn  to  ashes  in  their  grasp?  Surely  at  this 
moment  America  ought  not  to  have  been  reticent. 

Later,  and  on  June  10,  1898,  General  Aguinaldo  ap- 
pealed directly  to  President  McKinley,  his  letter  hav- 
ing been  forwarded  under  date  of  July  8,  urging  that 
the  United  States  should  make  no  endeavor  to  deliver  the 
possession  of  the  Philippines  to  England,  but  leave  his 
country  "  free  and  independent,  even  if  you  make  peace 
with  Spain." 

Again  (Jeneral  Aguinaldo  was  not  informed  that  it 
was  the  purpose  of  America,  if  possible,  to  purchase  the 
Philippine  Islands  from  an  expelled  tyrant  without  con- 
sulting the  wishes  of  the  inhabitants,  who  had  estab- 
lished and  were  maintaining  successfully  a  government 
satisfactory  to  them. 

On  June  8,  1898,  and  before  the  declaration  of  inde- 
pendence of  the  Filipinos,  the  Filipinos  of  Singapore 
presented  an  address  to  Mr.  Pratt,  the  American  con- 
sul, in  which  they  said: 

**  Our  countrymen  at  home  and  those  of  us  residing 
here  —  refugees  from  Spanish  misrule  and  tyranny  in 
our  beloved  native  land  —  hope  that  the  United  States, 
your  nation,  persevering  in  its  humane  policy,  will  ef- 
ficaciously second  the  program  arranged  between  you, 
sir,  and  General  Aguinaldo  in  this  port  of  Singapore, 
and  secure  to  us  our  independence  under  the  protection 
of  the  United  States." 


THE  PROTEST  OF  THE  FILIPINOS     69 

Consul  Pratt  did  not  dissent  from  this  understand- 
ing of  his  compact  with  General  Aguinaldo.  The  state 
department  was  informed  of  this  affair  before  July  20, 
1898,  and  directed  caution  on  the  part  of  Mr.  Pratt,  but 
did  not  disavow  his  action  to  the  parties  most  con- 
cerned, permitting  them  to  continue  to  believe,  as  they 
had  already  an  ample  reason  for  believing,  that  the  re- 
sult of  their  struggle  would  be  the  independence  of  their 
native  land. 

In  addition  to  the  facts  already  enumerated,  for  the 
period  of  four  months  in  and  out  of  the  harbor  of  Ma- 
nila, vessels  passed  floating  the  flag  of  the  Philippine 
Republic,  saluting  and  being  saluted  by  American  men- 
of-war,  and  these  acts  continued,  without  let  or  hin- 
drance until  the  month  of  October,  1898. 

I  have  taken  occasion  in  a  communication  to  the  Sec- 
retary of  State  to  point  out  that  by  the  rule  of  inter- 
national law,  maintained  without  exception  by  the  Amer- 
ican Government,  the  Philippine  Republic  has  been  for 
many  months  entitled  to  national  recognition,  possessing, 
as  it  has,  since  June  18,  1898,  a  government  both  de 
facto  and  de  jure,  capable  of  enforcing  its  laws  at  home, 
or  carrying  out  its  undertakings  with  foreign  Govern- 
ments, and  of  maintaining  itself  against  Spain. 

Before  the  appointment  of  the  peace  commissioners 
on  September  12,  1898,  American  officials  had  fully  rec- 
ognized and  had  communicated  to  their  Government  the 
fact  that  it  was  no  longer  possible  for  Spain  under  any 
circumstances  to  regain  possession  of  the  Philippines;  a 
point  most  essential  to  be  considered  in  determining 
whether  a  new,  independent  nation  should  be  recog- 
nized. 


70       THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

In  a  memorandum  concerning  the  Philippine  Islands, 
made  August  27,  1898,  by  General  F.  V.  Greene,  he 
states : 

' '  The  Spanish  Government  is  completely  demoralized, 
and  Spanish  power  is  dead,  beyond  the  possibility  of 
resurrection.  Spain  would  be  unable  to  govern  these 
islands  if  we  surrender  them." 

Under  date  of  August  29,  Major  J.  F.  Bell  reported 
to  General  Merritt  as  follows: 

**  I  have  met  no  one  cognizant  of  the  conditions  now 
existing  in  these  islands  and  in  Spain  who  believes  that 
Spain  can  ever  again  bring  the  Philippine  Islands  under 
subjection  to  its  Government." 

From  the  foregoing,  it  must  appear  that  the  Philip- 
pine nation  had  achieved  its  independence  free  from  any 
danger  of  losing  it  at  the  hands  of  the  Spaniards,  prior 
even  to  the  signing  of  the  protocol.  This  is  shown  by 
the  Executive  Document  No.  62,  now  before  the  Senate, 
which  document  contains  much  testimony  concerning  the 
productive  capacity  of  the  Philippine  Islands,  and  their 
mineral  and  agricultural  wealth,  but  little  evidence 
touching  the  probability  of  maintaining  the  American 
government  in  these  islands  irrespective  of  the  desires 
of  their  people,  and  no  direct  testimony  whatever  as  to 
the  wishes  of  the  people  themselves,  although  it  does 
contain  evidence  that  the  American  Government  had 
known  from  the  beginning  that  the  Filipinos  were  strug- 
gling for  independence  and  with  success,  and  including 
copies  of  the  declaration  of  independence  of  the  Philip- 
pine Republic  and  of  the  laws  passed  pursuant  thereto, 
and  showing  that  the  Government  kaew  that  there  was 
in  existence  a  regularly  organized  and  constituted  re- 


THE  PROTEST  OF  THE  FILIPINOS     71 

publican  government  controlling  the  Islands  and  having 
General  Agninaldo  at  its  head. 

I  have  already  alluded  to  the  fact  that  Spain  had  no 
power  to  deliver  possession  to  the  United  States  of  the 
Philippine  Islands,  having  been  driven  from  these 
islands  by  the  just  wrath  of  their  inhabitants;  and  by 
way  of  illustration  of  this  point,  I  venture  to  file  here- 
with a  map  of  the  Philippine  Archipelago,  designating 
the  principal  islands  under  the  control  of  the  respective 
nations,  and  showing  that  America  is  in  actual  pos- 
session at  this  time  of  one  hundred  and  forty-three 
square  miles  of  territory,  with  a  population  of  three 
hundred  thousand,  while  the  Philippine  Government  is 
in  possession  and  control  of  167,845  square  miles,  with 
a  population  of  9,395,000,  and  only  a  few  scattered  gar- 
risons are  to  be  found  in  islands  having  an  area  of 
51,693  square  miles,  with  a  population  of  305,000.  The 
figures  as  to  the  Spanish  possession  should  be  dimin- 
ished, and  those  of  the  Philippine  Government  enlarged 
by  virtue  of  the  fact  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  islands 
where  Spanish  troops  yet  remain  have  practically  con- 
fined such  troops  to  the  narrow  quarters  of  their  garri- 
son towns. 

^pain,  therefore,  having  been  driven  away,  as  I 
have  stated,  and  the  inhabitants  having  established  a 
government  satisfactory  to  themselves  and  maintaining 
order  throughout  the  territories  under  its  control,  what 
justification  can  any  other  nation  advance  for  interfer- 
ing with  my  country  or  refusing  to  extend  toward  it  the 
obligations  of  international  law?  Could  Spain  give  to 
any  nation  a  better  right  than  she  possessed  ?  She  could 
not  confer  possession,  for  she  did  not  enjoy  it,  and  any 


72       THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

foreign  right  of  possession  claimed  by  her  had  been  ex- 
tinguished by  the  destruction  of  her  sovereignty  over 
my  country.  She  could  not  create  by  treaty  or  other- 
wise, as  against  the  Philippine  Islands,  any  right,  except 
it  be  the  right  to  conquer  them,  and  if  such  right  be 
claimed,  it  exists  not  because  of  cession  on  the  part  of 
Spain,  but  because  of  its  own  inherent  force,  and  must 
be  as  powerful  on  behalf  of  any  other  nation  as  it  is  on 
behalf  of  the  United  States.  If,  therefore,  America 
claims  the  right  to  make  war  upon  my  countrymen  for 
the  purpose  of  conquering  them,  and  thus  destroying 
another  republic,  so  equally  may  Germany,  France,  and 
England,  or  any  other  powerful  nation,  claim  the  same 
right. 

It  may  be  said  that  the  United  States  has  purchased 
from  Spain  by  treaty  *'  all  the  buildings,  wharves,  bar- 
racks, forts,  structures,  public  highways,  and  other  im- 
movable property,  which  in  conformity  with  law  belong 
to  the  crown  of  Spain."  But  it  was  not  possible  for 
Spain  to  yield  any  right  as  to  property  of  this  nature  as 
against  the  Government  of  the  Philippine  Islands,  for 
by  all  authorities  upon  the  subject  of  international  law, 
public  property  goes  to  the  captor  of  the  country,  and 
may  not  be  transferred  by  an  expelled  nation  to  a  foreign 
government  against  the  right  of  the  nation  which  has 
gained  possession  of  the  country  by  conquest.  It,  there- 
fore, follows  that  the  public  buildings,  etc.,  recited  as 
ceded  by  Spain  to  the  United  States  could  not  have  been 
so  ceded  but  of  right  and  by  international  law  belong 
to  the  successor  of  the  Spanish  power  in  the  Philippines ; 
that  is  to  say,  to  the  Philippine  Government  represent- 
ing the  independent  people  of  these  islands. 


THE  PROTEST  OF  THE  FILIPINOS     73 

In  the  further  discussion  of  the  question  whether  the 
American  Government  could  acquire  any  right  in  the 
Philippines  from  Spain  by  treaty,  I  am  fortunately  able 
to  invite  your  attention  to  several  notable  and  exact 
American  precedents,  and  I  could  ask  for  my  country  no 
better  fortune  than  to  have  the  republic  of  America,  as 
at  present  constituted,  adhere  to  the  teachings  of  inter- 
national law  as  laid  down  by  some  of  its  founders,  to 
whom  we  appeal  with  the  utmost  confidence. 

"When  it  becomes  necessary,  as  it  did  in  1792,  for  the 
American  Government  to  appoint  commissioners  to  ne- 
gotiate a  treaty  with  the  court  of  Spain,  Mr.  Thomas 
Jefferson,  under  date  of  March  18,  1792,  among  other 
things  wrote  as  follows: 

*  *  Spain  was  expressly  bound  to  have  delivered  up  the 
possession  she  had  taken  within  the  limits  of  Georgia 
(during  the  Revolutionary  War  as  an  ally  of  the  United 
States)  to  Great  Britain,  if  they  were  conquests  on 
Great  Britain,  who  was  to  deliver  them  over  to  the  United 
States;  or  rather,  she  should  have  delivered  them  to  the 
United  States  themselves,  as  standing  quoad  hoc  in  the 
place  of  Great  Britain.  And  she  was  bound  by  natural 
right  to  deliver  them  to  the  same  United  States  on  a 
much  stronger  ground,  as  the  real  and  only  proprietors 
of  those  places  which  she  had  taken  possession  of  in  a 
moment  of  danger,  without  having  had  any  cause  of  war 
with  the  United  States,  to  whom  they  belonged,  and 
without  having  declared  any ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  con- 
ducting herself  in  other  respects  as  a  friend  and  asso- 
ciate. Vattel,  1,  3,  122.  ...  It  is  still  more  palpable 
that  a  war  existing  between  two  nations  as  Spain  and 
Great  Britain,  could  give  to  neither  the  right  to  seize  and 


74       THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

appropriate  the  territory  of  a  third,  which  is  even  neu- 
tral, much  less  which  is  an  associate  in  the  war,  as  the 
United  States  were  with  Spain,"  citing  Grotius,  Puffen- 
dorf,  and  Vattel. 

Again  Mr.  Pinckney,  on  August  10,  1795,  wrote  to  the 
Duke  of  Alcudia  among  other  matters  as  follows: 

**  But  it  has  been  said  (referring  to  the  contention  of 
Spain  that  she  was  entitled  to  retain  territory  within  the 
limits  of  the  United  States,  the  possession  of  which  was 
obtained  by  her  during  the  war  against  Great  Britain) 
that  Spain  had  pretensions  for  passing  the  limits  above 
mentioned  by  the  right  of  conquest,  her  troops  having, 
during  the  war,  seized  a  certain  portion  of  territory 
beyond  that  limit;  but  the  answer  to  this  pretension  is 
that  the  territory  conquered  must  have  belonged,  before 
the  war,  either  to  the  United  States  or  to  Great  Britain. 
If  it  belonged  to  the  United  States,  it  is  very  clear  that 
Spain  could  have  no  right  to  make  conquests  on  a  na- 
tion with  whom  she  was  not  at  war,  and  I  will  not,  for  a 
single  moment,  admit  an  idea  so  disrespectful  to  Spain  as 
to  imagine  that  she  could  pretend  to  be  the  friend  of  the 
United  States;  to  have  succored  them  in  the  war;  to 
have  even  lent  them  money  for  maintaining  it,  at  the 
same  time  she  was  depriving  them  of  their  property." 

As  will  be  seen  on  a  careful  examination  of  the  fore- 
going citations,  the  cases  cited  are  to  all  intents  parallel 
with  that  before  us.  Spain  was,  during  the  American 
Revolution,  engaged  in  warfare  with  Great  Britain, 
from  which  country  the  United  States  was  seeking  inde- 
pendence, as  were  the  Filipinos  in  the  recent  war  with 
Spain,  and  she  had  by  her  arms  obtained  possession  of 
portions  of  the  United  States.    Her  right  to  them  was 


THE  PROTEST  OF  THE  FILIPINOS     75 

denied  successfully  by  America.  The  only  possible  dif- 
ference between  the  two  cases  is  that  in  the  first,  posses- 
sion was  claimed  by  virtue  of  conquest,  and  as  to  the 
Philippines,  the  United  States  claims  possession  by  vir- 
tue of  cession  from  an  expelled  power ;  but  whether  the 
apparent  title  be  based  upon  conquest  or  cession  it  is 
clearly  shown  by  Mr.  Jefferson  and  Mr.  Pinckney  that 
it  is  contrary  to  the  law  of  nations  for  one  nation  en- 
gaged in  a  common  cause  with  another  to  despoil  its 
associate.  Mr.  Pinckney  thought  the  idea  of  such  a  thing 
disrespectful  to  Spain,  and  was  unable  to  imagine  that 
she  could  pretend  to  be  a  friend  of  the  United  States 
and  to  have  helped  them  while  at  the  same  time  she  was 
seeking  to  rob  them  of  their  property. 

That  the  view  taken  by  Mr,  Jefferson  and  Mr.  Pinck- 
ney was  the  correct  view  is  shown  by  the  decision  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  in  the  case  of  Har- 
court  vs.  Gailliard,  12  Wheaton,  page  523 : 

**  War,"  says  the  Supreme  Court,  "  is  a  suit  prose- 
cuted by  the  sword  and  where  the  question  to  be  decided 
is  one  of  original  claim  to  territory  grants  of  soil  made 
flagrante  hello  by  the  party  that  fails  can  only  derive 
validity  from  treaty  stipulation." 

We  have  before  us  a  case  of  a  grant  of  territory  under- 
taken to  be  made  by  Spain  during  the  existence  of  a 
war  between  her  and  the  Philippine  Islands,  such  a  grant 
as  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  under  paral- 
lel circumstances  stated  could  only  derive  validity  by 
reason  of  treaty  stipulation,  meaniag  in  the  case  before 
the  Supreme  Court,  treaty  stipulation  between  England 
and  America,  and  meaning  as  to  the  present  case  treaty 
stipulations  between  the  Philippine  Islands  and  Spain. 


76       THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

I  venture  to  summarize  the  foregoing  as  follows : 

1.  The  United  States,  not  having  received  from  the 
inhabitants  of  the  Philippine  Islands  authority  to  pass 
laws  affecting  them,  its  legislation  as  to  their  welfare, 
I  respectfully  submit,  possesses  no  binding  force  as 
against  my  people. 

2.  American  authorities  herein  cited  demonstrate  that 
the  Philippine  revolution  was  never  more  threatening 
than  immediately  before  the  breaking  out  of  the  Spanish- 
American  War,  five  thousand  revolutionists  being  en- 
camped near  Manila  three  weeks  before  the  American 
declaration  of  war,  this  army  acting  (though  he  was 
personally  absent)  under  the  direction  of  General 
Aguinaldo,  in  whom  the  consular  representatives  of  the 
United  States  reposed  the  highest  confidence. 

3.  The  purpose  of  the  revolution  was  independence, 
and  understanding  this,  the  United  States  encouraged 
the  revolutionists  to  believe  their  desires  would  attain 
fruition.  This  is  shown  by  citations  from  the  archives 
of  the  state  department  and  the  incidents  above  re- 
lated. 

4.  The  Philippine  Republic  was  entitled  to  receive 
from  the  United  States  recognition  as  an  independent 
nation  before  the  signing  of  the  protocol  with  Spain, 
that  Government  knowing  that  Philippine  independence 
had  been  proclaimed  in  June,  a  government  de  facto  and 
de  jure  established,  laws  promulgated,  and  Spain's 
further  domination  impossible,  being  acquainted  with  all 
these  facts  immediately  upon  their  happening,  through 
documents  and  written  reports  submitted  to  it  by  its 
officers. 

5.  The  American  Government  for  months  has  had  in 


THE  PROTEST  OF  THE  FILIPINOS      77 

its  possession,  as  herein  shown,  evidence  of  the  actual  in- 
dependence of  the  Filipinos. 

6.  Spain  could  not  deliver  possession  of  the  Philip- 
pines to  the  United  States,  being  herself  ousted  by  their 
people,  and  in  fact  at  the  present  moment  the  United 
States  holds  only  an  entrenched  camp,  controlling  one 
hundred  and  forty-three  square  miles,  with  300,000 
people,  while  the  Philippine  Republic  represents  the 
destinies  of  nearly  10,000,000  souls,  scattered  over  an 
area  approaching  200,000  square  miles. 

7.  Spain  having  no  possession  (except  minor  garrison 
posts)  and  no  right  of  possession  in  the  Philippines, 
could  confer  no  right  to  control  them. 

8.  American  purchase  of  public  buildings,  etc.,  in  the 
Philippine  Islands  was  ineffective,  because  the  Islands, 
having  been  lost  by  Spain  to  the  Philippine  Republic, 
the  last-named  Government  had  already  by  conquest  ac- 
quired public  property. 

9.  Secretaries  of  state  of  your  country  (including  Mr. 
Jefferson  and  Mr.  Pinckney)  have  denied  the  right  of  an 
ally  of  America  to  acquire  by  conquest  from  Great 
Britain  any  American  territory  while  America  was  strug- 
gling for  independence.  The  United  States  Supreme 
Court  has  sustained  this  view.  We  deny  similarly  the 
right  of  the  United  States  to  acquire  Philippine  terri- 
tory by  cession  from  Spain  while  the  Filipinos  were 
yet  at  war  with  that  power. 

In  concluding  this  communication  with  the  expression 
of  the  earnest  hope  that  the  representations  I  have  thus 
ventured  to  make  to  you  will  receive  your  grave  consid- 
eration before  you  finally  set  upon  the  treaty  that  con- 
tains so  much  of  consequence  to  my  people,  and  if  you 


78       THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

do  this,  as  I  cannot  for  a  moment  doubt  you  will  in  the 
spirit  that  has  ever  characterized  your  deliberations 
when  discussing  questions  affecting  the  lives  and  liber- 
ties of  individuals  or  of  nations,  I  am  assured  that  the 
just  and  high  aspirations  of  my  countrymen  will  receive 
the  prompt  recognition  and  approval  of  your  honorable 
body. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

(Sgd.)     Felipe  Agoncillo. 

The  prophecy  contained  in  the  correspondence 
of  the  Filipino  representatives  to  the  effect  that 
trouble  was  sure  to  come  in  the  Islands  if  an  un- 
detstanding  were  not  reached  between  the  two  peo- 
ples was  soon  seen  to  be  true,  for  on  February  4, 
or  five  days  after  the  sending  of  the  memorial  al- 
ready cited,  actual  war  was  begun.  The  Filipinos 
were  blamed  for  the  hostilities,  and  this  assured  the 
ratification  of  the  treaty.  It  happened  that  on 
the  eve  of  the  fatal  fourth  of  February,  Mr. 
Agoncillo,  alarmed  by  the  press  attacks  upon  him 
and  the  statements  that  he  was  likely  to  be  ar- 
rested, fled  to  Canada.  Administration  senators 
and  congressmen  took  advantage  of  this  coin- 
cidence to  accuse  him  of  having  secretly  urged  the 
attack  upon  the  American  troops. 

Hostilities  having  begun,  Mr.  Agoncillo's  work 
as  an  envoy  was  ended.  His  secretary,  Mr.  Sixto 
Lopez,  nevertheless  remained  in  America  and  did 


THE  PROTEST  OF  THE  FILIPINOS      79 

notable  campaign  work  for  Philippine  independ- 
ence. 

It  was  often  asked  why,  seeing  that  victory  over 
American  arms  was  impossible,  the  Filipinos  per- 
sisted in  their  desperate  struggle  until  the  very 
last.  The  brains  of  that  "revolution"  and  the 
greatest  character  of  that  epoch,  Apolinario  Ma- 
bini,  expressed  the  sentiments  of  his  countrymen 
as  follows : 

The  Filipinos  realize  that  they  cannot  expect  any  vie-  f 
tory  over  the  American  forces ;  they  are  fighting  to  show 
the  American  people  that  they  are  sufficiently  intelligent 
to  know  their  rights  despite  any  pretense  to  hide  these 
rights  with  able  sophistry.  They  hope  that  this  strug- 
gle will  remind  the  American  people  of  the  struggle  their 
forefathers  waged  against  Great  Britain  for  the  emanci- 
pation of  the  colonies  which  are  now  free  States  of  North 
America.  Then  the  Americans  occupied  the  position 
that  the  Filipinos  now  occupy.  If  the  American  cause 
of  that  time  found  supporters  in  France,  the  Filipinos 
expect  to  find  friends  of  their  cause  in  the  American 
people  themselves  when  the  American  people  become  con- 
vinced that  this  struggle  is  not  based  on  race  hatred  but 
on  the  same  principles  sealed  with  the  blood  of  their 
forefathers.  .  .  . 

The  Filipinos  maintain  their  fight  against  the  Ameri- 
can troops,  not  because  of  an  especial  hatred,  but  in 
order  to  show  to  the  American  people  that,  far  from 
being  indifferent  as  to  their  political  situation,  they  know 
how  to  sacrifice  themselves  for  a  government  which  as- 


80       THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

sures  them  their  individual  liberty  and  which  governs 
them  in  conformity  with  the  wishes  and  the  needs  of  the 
people.  They  have  been  unable  to  avoid  that  fight,  ow- 
ing to  the  fact  that  they  have  been  unable  to  obtain  from 
the  American  Government  any  kind  of  formal  and  clear 
promise  regarding  the  establishment  of  such  a  kind  of 
government. 

Mabini  further  proposed  the  following  plan  for 
the  cessation  of  hostilities : 

The  present  condition  and  state  of  war  deprives  the 
people  of  the  chance  to  manifest  freely  their  aspirations ; 
therefore  the  Filipinos  desire  most  ardently  that  the 
Congress  of  the  United  States  provide  for  some  means  to 
listen, to  them  before  adopting  a  resolution  that  would 
mean  a  definite  decision  regarding  their  future. 

To  bring  that  about,  the  Filipinos  request  the  Congress 
that  it  nominate  either  an  American  commission,  which 
would  have  to  find  ways  and  means  to  meet  such  Filipinos 
who  enjoy  a  positive  influence  both  with  the  peaceful 
part  and  with  that  part  of  the  nation,  which  is  now  in 
arms,  or  that  it  call  for  a  commission  composed  of  such 
Filipinos,  in  order  to  be  informed  by  them  directly  as  to 
the  wishes  and  needs  of  the  people. 

In  order  to  provide  a  possibility  of  receiving  a  com- 
plete information  of  this  sort  and  in  order  that  the  work 
of  the  Commission,  whichever  may  be  its  composition, 
have  for  a  final  result  the  establishment  of  peace,  it  is 
requested  that  the  American  army  of  occupation  do  not 
interfere  with  the  free  and  unhampered  manifestation 
of  the  opinion  of  the  people  in  either  the  press  or  in 
peaceful  meetings;  that  the  same  suspend  for  the  time 


THE  PROTEST  OF  THE  FILIPINOS     81 

being  their  attacks  on  the  Filipino  posts,  while,  of  course, 
also  the  latter  would  bind  themselves  not  to  undertake 
anything  whatever  against  the  American  troops,  and, 
further,  that  the  commissioners  be  given  the  greatest 
liberty  to  communicate  with  the  revolutionists. 

In  view  of  the  obvious  success  of  the  American  arms, 
even  the  least  rational  Filipino  cannot  help  admitting 
that  all  concessions  of  the  class  would  mean  nothing  else 
but  an  act  of  liberality  on  the  side  of  the  North  American 
people,  which  appears  to  me  to  be  one  additional  reason 
why  the  Congress  should  show  benevolence  and  indul- 
gence. 

I  confidently  hope  that  when  the  Americans  and 
Filipinos  have  come  to  know  each  other  better  not  only 
the  present  conflict  will  come  to  an  end,  but  that  also  any 
future  ones  will  be  avoided.  The  opinion  prevailing 
among  the  impartial  part  of  the  American  nation  ap- 
pears to  tend  toward  adhering  to  its  old  traditions  and 
the  spirit  of  justice  and  humanity,  which  constitute  at 
the  present  time  the  sole  hope  of  all  upright  Filipinos. 


CHAPTER  V 

PRESIDENT  MCKINLEY'S  INSTRUCTIONS 

ONCE  convinced  that  the  American  people  de- 
sired to  hold  the  Philippines,  President  Mc- 
Kinley  decided  to  extend  American  sovereignty 
over  the  Islands  at  the  earliest  possible  moment 
and  even  before  he  had  any  legal  right  to  claim 
that  sovereignty.  He  completely  ignored,  as  we 
have  just  seen,  what  the  Filipino  people  might  say 
on  this  question.  He  refused  to  tell  them  what 
he  proposed  as  their  ultimate  political  status. 
Six  weeks  before  the  treaty  was  ever  ratified  he 
had  already  taken  the  position  that  the  Philippines 
were  a  part  of  the  United  States.  "  With  the  sig- 
nature of  the  treaty  of  peace,"  he  said  in  his  proc- 
lamation of  December  21,  1898,  sent  to  the  Fili- 
pino people,  "the  future  control,  disposition,  and 
government  of  the  Philippine  Islands  are  ceded 
to  the  United  States."  In  the  same  proclamation 
he  instructed  the  military  authorities  to  extend  by 
force  American  sovereignty  over  the  Philippines. 
He  thus  virtually  took  in  his  own  hands  the  treaty- 

82 


MCKINLEY'S  INSTRUCTIONS  83 

making  power  of  the  United  States ;  for  before  the 
ratification  of  the  treaty  of  peace  by  the  Senate, 
the  legal  status  of  the  Philippines  was  determined 
only  by  the  protocol  of  August  12, 1898,  which  read 
thus:  "The  United  States  will  occupy  and  hold 
the  city,  bay,  and  harbor  of  Manila,  pending  the 
conclusion  of  a  treaty  of  peace  which  shall  deter- 
mine the  control,  disposition,  and  government  of 
the  Philippines."  The  treaty  was  not  yet  con- 
cluded, its  ratification  being  pending  in  the  Senate, 
but  the  President  was  already  claiming  sovereignty 
over  the  Philippines.  He  did  not  take  into  con- 
sideration that  the  Senate  of  the  United  States 
could,  if  it  chose,  reject  the  entire  treaty  and  thus 
renounce  sovereignty  over  the  Philippines. 

But  leaving  aside  the  constitutionality  of  the 
proclamation  —  its  ratification  having  been  sub- 
sequently effected  —  the  points  that  should  inter- 
est us  most  in  this  document  are  those  which  re- 
ferred to  the  policy  he  planned  to  pursue  toward 
the  Philippines.  "  In  performing  this  duty,"  he 
said,  "  the  military  commander  of  the  United 
States  is  enjoined  to  make  known  to  the  inhabitants 
of  the  Philippine  Islands  that  in  succeeding  to  the 
sovereignty  of  Spain,  in  severing  the  former  po- 
litical relations,  and  in  establishing  a  new  political 
power,  the  authority  of  the  United  States  is  to  be 
exerted  for  the  securing  of  the  persons  and  prop- 


84       THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

erty  of  the  people  of  the  Islands  and  for  the  con- 
firmation of  all  their  private  rights  and  relations. 
It  will  be  the  duty  of  the  commander  of  the  forces 
of  occupation  to  announce  and  proclaim  in  the  most 
public  manner  that  we  come  not  as  invaders  or 
conquerors,  but  as  friends,  to  protect  the  natives  in 
their  homes,  in  their  employments,  and  in  their 
personal  and  religious  rights.  All  persons  who, 
either  by  active  aid  or  by  honest  submission,  co- 
operate with  the  Government  of  the  United  States 
to  give  effect  to  these  beneficent  purposes  will  re- 
ceive the  reward  of  its  support  and  protection. 
All  others  will  be  brought  within  the  lawful  rule 
we  have  assumed,  with  firmness  if  need  be,  but 
without  severity,  so  far  as  possible."  .  .  . 

"  Finally,  it  should  be  the  earnest  wish  and  para- 
mount aim  of  the  military  administration  to  win 
the  confidence,  respect,  and  affection  of  the  in- 
habitants of  the  Philippines  by  assuring  them  in 
every  possible  way  that  full  measure  of  individual 
rights  and  liberties  which  is  the  heritage  of  free 
peoples,  and  by  proving  to  them  that  the  mission 
of  the  United  States  is  one  of  benevolent  assimila- 
tion, substituting  the  mild  sway  of  justice  and  right 
for  arbitrary  rule." 

From  this  document,  despite  its  sugar-coated 
promises  and  its  beguiling  phrases,  the  Filipino 
people  learned  in  an  unmistakable  manner  that 


MCKINLEY'S  INSTRUCTIONS  85 

they  were  to  be  deprived  of  the  boon  for  which 
they  were  fighting  —  independence.  They  realized 
what  they  had  never  for  a  moment  dreamed  in  the 
beginning,  that  their  bloody  struggle  had  brought 
them  only  a  change  of  masters;  and,  what  was 
more,  that  these  new  masters  were  their  former 
allies  against  Spain.  True  it  is  that  in  the  mani- 
festo they  were  promised  individual  rights  and  pro- 
tection of  rights  to  property,  but  these  promises 
Implied  not  inherent  rights,  but  mere  grants  from 
an  absolute  sovereign.  According  to  Prof.  A.  H. 
Tolman  of  Chicago,  "  this  manifesto  takes  not  the 
slightest  notice  of  any  rights  on  the  part  of  the 
people  of  these  islands  except  what  we  are  gra- 
ciously pleased  to  grant  them ;  it  contains  no  recog- 
nition of  their  long  struggle  against  Spain,  their 
arduous  struggle  for  liberty,  no  recognition  of  their 
long  sufferings  under  her  rule,  no  acknowledgment 
of  their  fitness  for  self-government,  no  expression 
of  our  desire  or  even  of  our  willingness  that  they 
should  govern  themselves.  Mr.  McKinley  simply 
promises  to  the  Filipinos  protection  *  in  their  per- 
sonal and  religious  rights '  and  a  '  full  measure  of 
individual  rights  and  liberties.'  Nothing  is  said 
about  those  political  rights  for  which  our  ancestors 
fought  as  these  people  are  now  fighting.  There  is 
not  one  word  in  this  document,  not  one,  which 
says  or  suggests  that  Filipinos  will  be  permitted 


86       THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

to  have  self-government  at  any  time,  either  soon  or 
late,  either  as  a  right  or  as  a  privilege." 

When  General  Otis,  the  commander  of  the 
American  forces  in  Manila,  received  this  manifesto, 
he  was  at  a  loss  what  to  do,  as  he  knew  that  its 
publication  would  only  enrage  the  Filipino  people 
and  widen  the  gap  between  them  and  the  Ameri- 
cans. "After  fully  considering  the  President's 
proclamation,"  General  Otis  explained,  "and  the 
temper  of  the  Tagalos  with  whom  I  was  daily  dis- 
cussing political  problems  and  the  friendly  inten- 
tions of  the  United  States  Government  towards 
them,  I  concluded  that  there  were  certain  words 
and  expressions  therein  such  as  '  sovereignty,^ 
*  right  of  cession,'  and  those  which  directed  imme- 
diate occupation,  etc.,  though  most  admirably  em- 
ployed, and  tersely  expressive  of  actual  conditions, 
might  be  advantageously  used  by  the  Tagalo  war 
party  to  incite  widespread  hostilities  among  the 
natives.  The  ignorant  classes  have  been  taught  to 
believe  that  certain  words  as  *  sovereignty,'  *  pro- 
tection,' etc.,  had  a  peculiar  meaning  disastrous  to 
their  welfare  and  significant  of  future  political 
domination,  like  that  from  which  they  had  recently 
been  freed."  In  view  of  these  considerations,  he 
felt  justified  in  amending  the  manifesto  so  that 
the  ideas  of  "  sovereignty  "  and  "  right  of  cession  " 
might  be  as  little  suggested  as  possible.    The  au- 


MCKINLEY'S  INSTRUCTIONS  87 

thentic  text  of  the  manifesto,  however,  was  pub- 
lished in  Iloilo.  It  is  now  acknowledged  by  most 
writers  that  this  manifesto  precipitated  the  Fili- 
pino-American War. 

Not  content  with  this  manifesto,  "in  order  to 
facilitate  the  most  humane,  pacific,  and  effective 
extension  of  authority  throughout  the  Islands  and 
to  secure,  with  the  least  possible  delay,  the  benefits 
of  a  wise  and  generous  protection  of  life  and  prop- 
erty," ^  President  McKinley  sent  the  first  Ameri- 
can Commission  composed  of  Jacob  G.  Schurman, 
Rear-Admiral  George  Dewey,  Major  General  El- 
well  S.  Otis,  Charles  Denby,  and  Dean  C.  Worces- 
ter. The  commissioners  were  instructed  to  exer- 
cise in  all  their  relations  with  the  inhabitants  of 
the  Philippines  "  due  respect  for  all  the  ideals, 
customs,  and  institutions  of  the  tribes  which  com- 
posed the  population,  emphasizing  upon  all  oc- 
casions the  just  and  beneficent  intentions  of  the 
Government  of  the  United  States."  ^  They  were 
to  be  the  "  bearers  of  the  good-will,  the  protection, 
and  the  richest  blessings  of  a  liberating  rather  than 
a  conquering  nation."  The  other  duty  of  this 
commission,  besides  the  expression  of  America's 
good-will,  was  to  investigate  and  report  back  the 

1  From  President  ilcKinley's  instructions  to  the  Schurman 
Commission. 

2  Ibid. 


88        THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

social  and  political  conditions  of  the  Philippines 
and  to  recommend  the  form  of  government  that 
should  be  established  there. 

These  instructions,  like  the  former  proclama- 
tion, failed  to  mention  or  even  intimate  what  was 
the  ultimate  purpose  of  the  American  people  in  re- 
taining the  Philippines,  whether  in  the  end  they 
were  to  be  independent  or  to  be  forever  dependen- 
cies of  the  United  States.  When  the  Commission 
reached  Manila  on  March  4,  1899,  hostilities  had 
begun.  The  members  opened  peace  negotiations 
with  the  insurgents,  but,  failing  of  results,  they 
proceeded  to  gather  data  for  their  report  to  the 
President. 

The  ratification  of  the  treaty  of  Paris  legalized 
President  McKinley's  claims  of  sovereignty.  How- 
ever, the  question  was  at  once  raised  as  to  what 
was  the  real  import  of  the  treaty  and  what  specific 
powers  the  United  States  thereby  gained  over  the 
Islands. 

"I  assume,"  said  Secretary  of  War  Root  .  .  . 
"  that  the  United  States  has  all  the  powers  in  re- 
spect of  a  territory  it  has  thus  acquired,  and  the 
inhabitants  of  that  territory,  which  any  nation  in 
the  world  has  in  respect  of  territory  which  it  has 
acquired ;  that,  as  between  the  people  of  the  ceded 
islands  and  the  United  States,  the  former  are  sub- 
ject to  the  complete  sovereignty  of  the  latter,  con- 


MCKINLEY'S  INSTRUCTIONS  89 

trolled  by  no  legal  limitations  except  those  which 
may  be  found  in  the  treaty  of  cession ;  that  the  peo- 
ple of  the  Islands  have  no  right  to  have  them 
treated  as  States,  or  to  have  them  treated  as  the 
territories  previously  held  by  the  United  States 
have  been  treated,  or  to  assert  a  legal  right  under 
the  provisions  of  the  Constitution- ...  or  to  as- 
sert against  the  United  States  any  legal  right 
whatever  not  found  in  the  treaty."  ^ 

Those  who  innocently  voted  for  the  treaty,  think- 
ing that  it  would  pave  the  way  for  the  recognition 
of  Philippine  independence,  now  realized  their 
mistake.  Senator  Hoar  is  authority  for  the  state- 
ment that  many  of  his  colleagues  who  had  favored 
the  ratification  regretted  their  votes  more  than  any 
other  act  of  their  lives.*  They  were  now  convinced 
that  the  treaty  committed  the  United  States  to  a 
policy,  the  policy  of  indefinite  retention,  which 
denied  the  Filipinos  any  inherent  right  as  a  nation. 
As  Senator  Hoar  has  very  well  said,  "The  treaty 
pledged  that  the  Philippine  Islands  should  be 
governed  by  Congress.  It  undertook  obligations 
which  require  for  their  fulfilment  at  least  ten 
years'  control  of  the  Islands.  It  put  the  people  of 
the  Islands  in  the  attitude  of  abandoning  the  re- 
public they  had  formed,  and  of  acknowledging  not 

3  Report  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  Root,  1899,  p.  24. 
*Hoar,  Autobiography  of  Seventy  Years,  Vol.  II,  p.  323. 


90       THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

only  our  supremacy  but  they  were  neither  entitled 
nor  fit  to  govern  themselves  or  to  carry  on  the  war 
which  had  unfortunately  broken  out."  '^  "  The  so- 
called  treaty  of  peace,"  says  Edwin  Burritt  Smith, 
"thus  becomes  the  Magna  Charta,  the  Bill  of 
Rights,  and  the  Constitution  of  the  ten  millions  of 
civilized  human  beings  who  are  natives  of  the  Span- 
ish Islands.  What  rights,  wrung  for  them  from 
unwilling  Spain,  are  by  this  precious  modern  char- 
ter of  liberty  guaranteed  to  them?  These  are  few 
and  simple,  as  follows : 

"  *  The  civil  rights  and  political  status  of  the  na- 
tive inhabitants  of  the  territories  hereby  ceded  to 
the  United  States  shall  be  determined  by  the  Con- 
gress.' 

"  *  The  inhabitants  of  the  territories  over  which 
Spain  relinquishes  or  cedes  her  sovereignty  shall 
be  secured  in  the  free  exercise  of  their  religion.' 

"  It  is  also  declared  that  the  relinquishment  op 
cession  of  Spanish  sovereignty  cannot  impair  the 
property  or  rights  pertaining  thereto  *of  prov- 
inces, municipalities,  public  or  private  establish- 
ments, ecclesiastical  or  civil  bodies,  or  any  other 
associations  having  legal  capacity  to  acquire  and 
possess  property  ...  or  of  private  individuals.' 

"  Thus  in  a  dozen  lines  of  a  treaty,  made  as  we 
are  assured  in  their  interest  though  without  their 

5  Hoar,  Ibid.,  Vol.  II,  p.  323. 


MCKINLEY'S  INSTRUCTIONS  91 

consent,  the  natives  of  the  Spanish  Islands  may 
find  all  their  legal  rights  set  forth.  Not  only  so, 
but  in  the  same  lines  they  may  also  find  the  claims 
of  a  state  church  to  much  of  the  desirable  property 
of  their  islands  carefully  preserved  and  protected. 
This  shows  great  progress  in  the  power  of  con- 
densed statement.  By  comparison,  what  a  waste 
of  words  appears  in  our  Magna  Charta,  Declara- 
tion of  Independence,  Bill  of  Rights,  and  Constitu- 
tions !  We  need  not  wonder,  as  we  stand  with  un- 
covered head  in  the  presence  of  this  final  charter 
of  liberty,  that  there  are  those  among  us  who  re- 
gard our  musty  and  verbose  charters  '  outgrown.^ 

"  The  simple  terms  and  limitations  of  this  pre- 
cious document  also  bear  concrete  testimony  to  Mr. 
McKinley's  faith  in  what  he  calls  *the  wisdom  of 
Congress.'  In  this  he  has  also  made  a  great  advance 
over  the  suspicious  framers  of  the  Constitution. 
They  feared  and  refused  to  commit  the  liberties  of 
the  three  million  people  to  the  tender  care  of  a 
Congress  of  their  own  choice  and  directly  respon- 
sible to  themselves.  He  neither  fears  nor  hesitates 
to  commit  the  liberties  of  ten  million  souls  to  the 
control  of  a  Congress  of  another  race  in  no  way 
representative  of,  or  responsible  to,  them.  He 
says  that  he  has  every  (undisclosed)  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  his  new  wards  share  his  own  faith  in  the 
wisdom  of  Congress.  .  .  . 


92        THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

"  This  *  treaty  of  peace/  or  new  charter  of  liberty, 
is  of  course  to  be  interpreted  in  the  light  of  Mr. 
McKinley's  purpose  of  'benevolent  assimilation.' 
It  is  in  this  spirit  that  Mr.  Root,  in  his  annual  re- 
port as  Secretary  of  War,  proceeds  as  follows : 

"  *  The  people  of  the  ceded  islands  have  acquired 
a  moral  right  to  be  treated  by  the  United  States  in 
accordance  with  the  underlying  principles  of  jus- 
tice and  freedom  which  we  have  declared  in  our 
Constitution,  which  are  the  essential  safeguards  of 
every  individual  against  the  powers  of  government, 
not  because  those  provisions  were  enacted  for  them, 
but  because  they  are  essential  limitations  inher- 
ent in  the  very  existence  of  American  Govern- 
ment.' 

"  Thus  it  appears  that,  by  reason  of  a  treaty  in 
the  making  of  which  they  did  not  share,  the  Fili- 
pinos have  acquired  rights  both  legal  and  moral  in 
character.  Their  rights  of  property  and  security 
in  the  exercise  of  religion  are  in  some  sense  legal. 
Their  civil  rights  and  political  status  rest  on  moral 
sanctions.  How  thankful  they  should  be,  espe- 
cially for  the  assurance  of  Secretary  Root,  that  they 
have  acquired  a  moral  right  to  be  treated  by  their 
alien  masters  Mn  accordance  with  the  underlying 
principles  of  justice  and  freedom.'  It  seems  that 
but  for  this  precious  treaty  they  would  be  without 
even  moral  rights.    Anybody  can  see  that  by  vir- 


McKlNLEY'S  INSTRUCTIONS  93 

tue  of  the  treaty  they  have  become  entitled  to 
*such  measure  of  liberty  as  Congress  shall  from 
time  to  time  deem  them  fit  to  enjoy.'  What  more 
can  an  *  inferior  race'  ask  of  its  masters?  What 
matter  if  the  liberty  which  comes  without  effort 
and  as  a  benefaction  to  its  recipients  is  a  plant  of 
slow  growth?  These  people  live  in  the  tropics. 
Whoever  heard  of  such  people  caring  much  for 
liberty?  They  may  thank  their  lucky  stars  that 
they  have  been  committed  to  the  tender  care  of 
such  good  masters.  If  their  chance  of  liberty  is 
slight,  what  they  get  will  cost  them  nothing,  not 
even  a  thought.  It  ought  also  to  be  worth  some- 
thing to  tropical  islanders  to  be  but  one  remove 
from  Mr.  McKinley's  '  Providence  of  God.'  "  ® 

For  two  years  after  the  ratification  of  the  treaty 
(from  February  6,  1899,  to  March  2,  1901)  Presi- 
dent McKinley,  by  virtue  of  his  being  the  military 
commander-in-chief  of  the  United  States,  was  the 
absolute  ruler  of  the  Philippines.  He  had  unlim- 
ited power.  He  could  dispose  of  the  lives  and 
property  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Philippines.  It 
must,  however,  be  said  to  the  credit  of  President 
McKinley  and  of  American  governmental  institu- 
tions, that  real  military  power  was  allowed  to  be 
continued  in  the  Philippines  only  so  long  as  civil 
government     was     impracticable.     His     military 

8  Edwin  Burritt  Smith,  Republic  or  Empire,  pp.  18-21. 


94        THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

power  included  executive,  judicial,  and  legislative 
authority.  And  in  order  to  facilitate  the  estab- 
lishment of  civil  government,  on  March  16,  1900, 
he  appointed  the  second  Philippine  Commission 
vested  with  the  power  of  exercising  the  legislative 
function  and  of  establishing  courts  of  justice,  which 
would  in  turn  be  vested  with  judicial  authority/ 
The  military  commanders  were  to  continue  exer- 
cising the  executive  function.  To  this  commis- 
sion he  reaflftrmed  his  purpose  to  insure  an  orderly 
and  safe  government  for  the  Philippines.  He  was 
strongly  against  the  exploitation  of  the  Philip- 
pines. The  only  suggestion  he  made  to  Chairman 
Cooper,  of  the  House  Committee  on  Insular  Af- 
fairs, upon  the  latter's  assumption  of  that  office, 
was  that  there  should  be  no  exploitation  of  the  Is- 
lands.^ He  was  for  the  rapid  Filipinization  of  the 
service  and  was  particularly  desirous  that  the  na- 
tive customs  and  institutions  and  even  prejudices 
be  respected.  "  In  all  the  forms  of  government  and 
administrative  provisions  which  they  are  author- 
ized to  prescribe,"  the  instructions  read,  "the 
Commission  should  bear  in  mind  that  the  govern- 
ment which  they  are  establishing  is  designed  not 

7  The  second  Philippine  Commission  was  composed  of  Hon. 
William  H,  Taft,  Prof.  Dean  C.  Worcester,  Hon.  Luke  E.  Wright, 
Hon.  Henry  C.  Ide,  and  Prof.  Bernard  Moses.  See  Appendix 
B  for  complete  instructions  to  this  commission. 

8  From  Mr.  Cooper's  speech  before  a  Rlzal  Day  dinner, 
Washington,  D.  C,  December  30,  1914. 


MCKINLEY'S  INSTRUCTIONS  95 

for  our  satisfaction,  or  for  the  expression  of  our 
theoretical  views,  but  for  the  happiness,  peace,  and 
prosperity  of  the  people  of  the  Philippine  Islands, 
and  the  measures  adopted  should  be  made  to  con- 
form to  their  customs,  their  habits,  and  even  their 
prejudices,  to  the  fullest  extent  consistent  with  the 
accomplishment  of  the  indispensable  requisites  of 
just  and  effective  government." 

President  McKinley's  military  authority  over 
the  Philippines  terminated  in  1901,  with  the  pas- 
sage by  Congress  of  what  is  called  the  Spooner 
Amendment,  which  vested  in  him  all  civil  and 
judicial  powers  necessary  to  govern  the  Philip- 
pines until  a  permanent  form  of  government  could 
be  devised  by  Congress. 

The  immediate  and  complete  establishment  of 
civil  government,  however,  was  made  impossible 
by  the  outbreak  of  the  Filipino-American  War. 
When  news  of  the  tragic  event  of  February  4, 1899, 
reached  the  United  States  it  was  with  the  positive 
assurance  from  the  newspapers  that  the  Filipino 
soldiers  were  to  blame  for  the  outbreak,  having 
treacherously  fired  the  first  shot.  A  storm  of  in- 
dignation arose  from  every  corner  of  America. 
This  charge  was  exploited  by  the  jingoes  and  the 
advocates  of  retention.  "  We  never  dreamed,"  said 
President  McKinley,*  "  that  the  little  body  of  in- 

9  At  Fargo,  N.  D.,  October  13,  1899. 


96        THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

surgents  whom  we  have  just  emancipated  from  op- 
pression —  we  never  for  a  moment  believed  —  that 
they  would  turn  upon  the  flag  that  had  sheltered 
them  against  Spain." 

The  opponents  of  the  treaty  became  also  the  vic- 
tims of  this  indignation,  for  it  was  urged  that  their 
determined  opposition  to  the  treaty  was  the  great- 
est incentive  to  the  Filipino  insurgents  to  give 
trouble.  The  enemies  of  retention,  on  the  other 
hand,  charged  that  the  imperialists  were  to  blame. 
"  The  responsibility,"  replied  Mr.  Bryan,  "  rests, 
not  upon  those  who  oppose  the  treaty,  but  upon 
those  who  refused  to  disclose  the  nation's  purpose 
and  left  the  Filipinos  to  believe  that  their  fight 
against  Spain,  instead  of  bringing  them  inde- 
pendence, has  only  brought  them  a  change  of  mas- 
ters. It  was  the  desire  to  be  independent  that  led 
the  Filipinos  to  resist  American  authority,  and 
their  desire  for  independence  was  not  inspired  by 
any  American  opposition  to  the  terms  of  the 
treaty."  ^^ 

The  importance  of  the  native  resistance  has  al- 
ways been  minimized  before  the  American  people. 
From  the  very  beginning  of  the  Philippine  ques- 
tion, the  retentionists  endeavored  to  show  that  the 
majority  of  the  Filipino  people  were  on  their  side, 

10  From  Mr.  Bryan's  speech  before  the  Good  Government 
Club,  Ann  Arbor,  Mich.,  February  18,  1899. 


MCKINLEY'S  INSTRUCTIONS  97 

for  they  dared  not  contradict  the  principle  that 
wherever  the  American  flag  flies  there  the  wishes 
of  the  majority  must  be  respected.  After  all, 
every  argument  for  the  Filipino  side  is  summed  up 
in  the  principle  expressed  in  the  Declaration  of 
Independence,  that  governments  derive  their  just 
powers  from  the  consent  of  the  governed.  Mr.  Mc- 
Kinley  was  loudest  in  his  assurance  to  his  people 
that  his  manifestos  and  the  forcible  extension  of 
American  sovereignty  were  welcomed  by  the  ma- 
jority of  the  Filipino  people.  After  nearly  a  year 
of  constant  fighting,  when  most  American  oflBcials 
had  confessed  that  they  had  undervalued  the  de- 
termination and  tenacity  of  the  Filipino  insurgents 
and  when  he  himself  had  already  sent  about  80,000 
soldiers  to  the  Islands,  he  still  asserted  that  the 
majority  of  the  Filipino  people  favored  American 
rule.  "  I  had  reason  to  believe,"  he  said  in  his 
message  of  December,  1899,  "and  I  still  believe 
that  this  transfer  of  sovereignty  was  in  accordance 
with  the  \sishes  and  the  aspirations  of  the  great 
masses  of  the  Filipino  people." 


.>^ 


CHAPTER  VI 

IMPERIALISM  AS  THE  "PARAMOUNT  ISSUE  ^^ 

EVERYTHING  so  far  promised  that  the  reten- 
tion of  the  Philippines  would  be  a  chief  issue 
in  American  politics.  By  securing  the  ratification 
of  the  treaty  of  peace  and  refusing  to  pass  any  reso- 
lution that  would  pledge  "  near  "  or  ultimate  inde- 
pendence, while  at  the  same  time  insisting  that  they 
did  not  want  to  make  the  Filipinos  citizens  of  the 
United  States,  the  Republican  party  had  plainly 
indicated  that  its  policy  towards  the  Islands  was 
a  policy  of  imperialism. 

The  Democrats,  in  general,  welcomed  the  issue 
of  imperialism  and  were  willing  to  make  it  the  main 
point  in  the  coming  presidential  election  of  1900. 
Among  the  Republicans  themselves  were  a  small 
but  fervent  group  of  opponents  of  President  Mc- 
Kinley's  Philippine  policy.  A  most  tenacious 
campaign  against  American  colonialism  was  the 
one  carried  on  by  the  Anti-Imperialist  Leagues. 
The  first  Anti-Imperialist  League  was  formed  in 
Boston  in  1898,  "to  oppose,  as  inconsistent  with 
American  ideals,  the  forcible  extension  of  the  sov- 

98 


THE  "PARAMOUNT  ISSUE"  99 

ereignty  of  the  United  States  over  foreign  people 
and  in  particular  to  work  constantly  for  the  early 
and  complete  independence  of  the  Philippine 
Islands/' 

Within  a  year  the  league  had  become  a  national 
organization  with  about  one  hundred  branches  in 
the  principal  American  cities,  chief  among  which 
were  New  York,  Philadelphia,  Springfield,  Chi- 
cago, Cincinnati,  Washington,  D.  C,  and  Los  An- 
geles. Among  the  foremost  promoters  of  anti- 
imperialism  were :  George  F.  Hoar,  Grover  Cleve- 
land, Samuel  W.  McCall,  George  S.  Boutwell, 
George  F.  Edmunds,  Wayne  McVeagh,  Andrew 
Carnegie,  J.  G.  Schurman,  Thomas  Wentworth 
Higginson,  Goldwin  Smith,  Edward  Atkinson,  Nel- 
son A.  Miles,  W.  D.  Howells,  F.  B.  Sanborn,  Moor- 
field  Storey,  John  F.  Shafroth,  Augustus  O.  Bacon, 
E.  W.  Carmack,  Donelson  Caflfery,  Jane  Addams, 
Edwin  Burritt  Smith,  Thomas  Mott  Osborne,  Her- 
bert Welsh,  Davis  Starr  Jordan,  Henry  Wade 
Rogers,  Charles  A.  Towne,  George  G.  Mercer,  Ed- 
win D.  Mead,  James  L.  Slayden,  Rufus  B.  Smith, 
W.  J.  Bryan,  Champ  Clark,  George  L.  Welling- 
ton, B.  R.  Tillman,  George  Turner,  R.  F.  Pettigrew, 
William  E.  Mason,  John  Sharp  Williams,  Robert 
L.  Henry,  W.  A.  Jones,  John  J.  Lentz,  Horatio  C. 
Potter,  Francis  G.  Newlands,  Henry  D.  Green,  T. 
M.  Patterson,  David  A.  DeArmond,  Thomas  W. 


100      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

Hardwick,  John  A.  Martin,  Eugene  F.  Kinkead,  J. 
Harry  Covington,  Frying  Winslow,  and  Isidor 
Rayner.^ 

The  campaign  carried  on  by  these  men  consisted 
in  the  making  of  speeches  and  the  distribution  of 
pamphlets,  especially  the  latter.  The  anti-imperi- 
alist movement  will  be  long  remembered  by  the 
number  and  quality  of  pamphlets  scattered  all  over 
the  United  States.  Mr.  Winslow  thinks  that  fully 
7,000,000  of  them  have  been  distributed.  The  Anti- 
Imperialist  League  sent  investigators  to  study  con- 
ditions in  the  Islands,  and  these  brought  back  re- 
ports that  have  been  of  great  use  to  the  cause  of 
Philippine  independence.  The  league  welcomed 
Filipino  visitors  to  Boston  and  endeavored  in 
every  possible  way  to  make  the  desires  of  the  Fili- 
pino people  known  to  the  Americans.  Mr.  Sixto 
Lopez  long  carried  on  his  work  in  America  under 
the  auspices  of  the  Anti-Imperialist  League. 

A  national  conference  of  anti-imperialists  was 
held  in  Chicago  on  October  17  and  18,  1899,  pre- 
sided over  by  Edwin  Burritt  Smith,  with  about  160 
representatives  from  all  over  the  country.  Here 
the  anti-imperialist  movement  was  formed  into  a 
national  organization,  under  the  name  of  the 
American  Anti-Imperialist  League.    A  committee 

iFrom  The  Anti-Imperialist  League  by  Erving  Winslow, 
"The  Filipino  People,"  September,  1912,  Vol.  I,  No.  1. 


THE  "PARAMOU^^T  ISSUE"  101 

headed  by  Carl  Schurz  prepared  a  declaration  of 
principles,  which  was  passed  by  acclamation, 
which  was,  in  part,  as  follows : 

"We  hold  that  the  policy  known  as  imperialism  is  hos- 
tile to  liberty  and  tends  towards  militarism,  an  evil  from 
which  it  has  been  our  glory  to  be  free.  We  regret  that 
it  has  become  necessary  in  the  land  of  "Washington  and 
Lincoln  to  reaffirm  that  all  men,  of  whatever  race  or 
color,  are  entitled  to  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  hap- 
piness. "We  maintain  that  governments  derive  their 
just  powers  from  the  consent  of  the  governed.  We  in- 
sist that  the  subjugation  of  any  people  is  ''  criminal 
aggression  "  and  open  disloyalty  to  the  distinctive 
principles  of  our  government.  .  .  . 

We  demand  the  immediate  cessation  of  the  war  against 
liberty,  begun  by  Spain  and  continued  by  us.  We  urge 
that  Congress  be  promptly  convened  to  announce  to  the 
Filipinos  our  purpose  to  concede  to  them  the  independ- 
ence for  which  they  have  so  long  fought  and  which  of 
right  is  theirs.  .  .  . 

We  propose  to  contribute  to  the  defeat  of  any  person 
or  party  that  stands  for  the  forcible  subjugation  of  any 
people.  We  shall  oppose  for  reelection  all  those  who,  in 
the  White  House  or  in  Congress,  betray  American  liberty 
in  pursuit  of  un-American  ends.  We  still  hope  that  both 
our  great  political  parties  will  support  and  defend  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  in  the  closing  campaign  of 
the  century. 

We  hold  with  Abraham  Lincoln  that :  *  *  No  man  is 
good  enough  to  govern  another  without  that  other 's  con- 
sent.   When  the  white  man  governs  himself,  that  is  self- 


102      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

government;  but  when  he  governs  himself  and  also  gov- 
erns another  man,  that  is  more  than  self-government  — 
that  is  despotism.  Our  reliance  is  in  the  laws  of  liberty 
which  God  has  planted  in  us.  Our  defense  is  in  the 
spirit  which  prizes  liberty  as  the  heritage  of  all  men  in 
all  lands  everywhere.  Those  who  deny  freedom  to 
others  deserve  it  not  for  themselves,  and  under  a  just 
God  cannot  long  retain  it. ' ' 

We  cordially  invite  the  cooperation  of  all  men  and 
women  who  remain  loyal  to  the  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence and  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States. 

A  great  many  things,  good  and  bad,  have  been 
said  of  the  anti-imperialists.  In  the  course  of 
their  campaign  they  incurred  the  enmity  and  even 
hatred  of  many  of  their  own  countrymen  for  op- 
posing the  policy  of  the  American  Government  in 
retaining  the  Islands.  Traitors  they  were  called 
when  they  dared  raise  a  voice  of  sympathy  for  the 
struggling  Filipinos.  But  there  is  one  thing  that 
they  were  never  accused  of,  and  that  is  personal  in- 
terest. They  are  now  a  small  but  very  sincere 
group  of  political  idealists,  fighting  for  the  pres- 
ervation of  time-honored  American  political  prin- 
ciples, without  any  hope  of  material  gain  for  them- 
selves. It  is  true  that  the  anti-imperialist  move- 
ment was  not  started  purely  out  of  love  for  the 
Philippines.  It  was  formed  to  check  the  tide  of 
imperialism  which  had  started  with  the  Spanish- 
American  War  and  which,  its  leaders  contended, 


THE  "PARAMOUNT  ISSUE"  103 

was  a  menace  to  American  institutions  and  Govern- 
ment. Imperialism  manifested  itself  in  the  seizure 
and  retention  of  the  Philippines  by  America,  and 
therefore  they  endeavored  to  free  the  Islands  as  a 
means  of  keeping  America  from  that  danger.  The 
Filipinos,  too,  believed  that  their  country  should 
be  freed  from  America;  so,  what  is  more  natural 
than  that  there  should  be  an  alliance,  as  it  were, 
between  these  two  groups  of  men  fighting  the  same 
battle? 

But  while  to  escape  from  imperialism  was  the 
prime  object  of  the  anti-imperialists,  it  cannot  be 
denied  that  many  of  them,  after  thus  espousing 
the  cause  of  a  weak  people  struggling  for  freedom, 
acquired  a  sincere  interest  in  their  welfare  and 
manifested  righteous  indignation  at  their  forceful 
subjection  by  the  American  Government.  Senator 
Daniel  declared  that  many  of  his  colleagues  voted 
against  the  treaty  of  Paris  simply  because  they 
were  convinced  that  it  was  an  injustice  to  the  Fili- 
pino people.  The  foremost  leader  of  that  move- 
ment, the  late  Senator  Hoar,  whose  reputation  for 
uprightness  and  morality  has  never  been  excelled 
by  that  of  any  American  statesman,  was  certainly 
inspired  by  the  deepest  sympathy  for  the  struggles 
and  privations  of  the  Filipino  people  and  by  the 
most  earnest  solicitude  for  their  fortunes,  their 
liberty,  and  their  happiness.     During  his  declining 


104      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

years,  in  reviewing  the  long  and  fruitful  record 
of  his  distinguished  public  life,  he  looked  back 
upon  his  efforts  to  arouse  the  conscience  of  his  peo- 
ple and  induce  them  to  recognize  the  right  of  the 
people  of  the  Philippines  to  self-government  and 
independence  as  the  proudest,  noblest,  and  most 
sublime  of  his  public  endeavors.  "  I  would  rather 
have,"  he  said  in  his  Autobiography  of  Seventy 
Years,  "  the  gratitude  of  the  people  of  the  Philip- 
pine Islands,  amid  their  sorrow,  and  have  it  true 
that  what  I  may  say  or  do  has  brought  a  ray  of 
hope  into  the  gloomy  caverns  in  which  the  op- 
pressed people  of  Asia  dwell,  than  to  receive  a 
ducal  coronet  from  every  monarch  of  Europe,  or 
command  the  applause  of  listening  senates  and  read 
my  history  in  a  nation's  eyes." 

The  campaign  of  the  anti-imperialists  helped  the 
Democrats  in  a  large  measure  to  bring  the  issue 
of  imperialism  to  the  front.  Some  Democrats,  it 
is  true,  were  favorable  to  expansion,  but  most  mem- 
bers of  the  party  welcomed  the  issue  of  imperialism 
and  were  willing  to  stake  their  fortunes  on  it  in 
^the  coming  presidential  election. 

The  Republican  national  convention  was  the 
first  to  be  held.  It  took  place  in  Philadelphia  on 
June  19-21,  1900.  The  dream  of  a  vast  Oriental 
commerce  and  an  Asiatic  market  that  would  be 
developed  through  holding  the  Philippines  as  a 


THE  "PARAMOUNT  ISSUE"  105 

base  had  not  yet  faded  from  the  minds  of  Republi- 
can leaders.  The  permanent  chairman  of  the  con- 
vention, Senator  Lodge,  very  frankly  said : 

We  make  no  hypocritical  pretense  of  being  interested 
in  the  Philippines  solely  on  account  of  others.  While 
we  regard  the  welfare  of  these  people  as  a  sacred  trust, 
we  regard  the  welfare  of  the  American  people  first.  We 
see  our  duty  to  ourselves  as  well  as  to  others.  We  be- 
lieve in  trade  expansion. 

This  spirit  was  manifested  throughout  the  whole 
proceedings.  There  were  also  vague  assevera- 
tions of  American  duties  and  responsibilities  as  a 
world  power,  but  not  the  remotest  suggestion  as  to 
when  these  duties  and  responsibilities  would  end. 
"  Let  faint  hearts  anoint  their  fears,"  declared 
Senator  Beveridge,  "  with  the  thought  that  some 
day  American  administration  and  American  duty 
there  may  end.  But  they  never  will  end.  Eng- 
land's occupation  of  Egypt  was  to  be  temporary; 
but  events  which  are  the  commands  of  God  are 
making  it  permanent.  And  now  God  has  given  us 
the  Pacific  empire  for  civilization."  ^ 

Most  Republican  leaders,  however,  were  not 
quite  sure  that  the  American  people  as  a  whole 
were  ready  to  accept  such  sentiments  as  these. 
Some  of  the  Republicans  themselves,  while  not  so 
radical  as  to  join  the  anti-imperialist  group  and  at- 

2  Speech  at  Philadelphia,  February  15,  1899. 


106     THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

tack  the  Administration's  Philippine  policy,  were 
against  permanent  retention.  In  the  House  of 
Representatives,  for  instance,  in  February,  1899, 
several  Republican  congressmen,  like  Mr.  Hepburn 
of  Iowa,  and  Mr.  Henderson,  declared  for  tempo- 
rary occupation  only.  These  considerations  prob- 
ably induced  the  Republican  convention  to  evade 
the  issue  of  permanent  or  temporary  retention,  and 
simply  to  declare  in  its  platform : 

Our  authority  could  not  be  less  than  our  responsibility, 
and  wherever  sovereign  rights  were  extended  it  became 
the  high  duty  of  the  Government  to  maintain  its  author- 
ity; to  put  down  armed  insurrection  and  to  confer  the 
blessings  of  liberty  and  civilization  upon  all  the  rescued 
people.  The  largest  measure  of  self-government  con- 
sistent with  their  welfare  and  our  duties  shall  be  secured 
to  them  by  law. 

But  it  should  be  noted  that  the  Republicans  did 
not  need  to  declare  for  permanent  domination  in 
order  to  obtain  it.  A  noncommittal  policy  leads 
necessarily  to  permanent  annexation.  The  Philip- 
pines were  unconditionally  annexed  to  the  United 
States  by  virtue  of  the  treaty  of  peace,  and  in  order 
that  they  might  be  permanently  annexed,  nothing 
was  needed  but  a  continuation  of  their  present 
status  as  American  territory.  Henceforward  the 
work  of  the  retentionists  would  be  purely  of  a 
negative  character :  to  prevent  any  movement  tend- 


THE  "PARAMOUNT  ISSUE"  107 

ing  to  alienate  the  possession  of  the  Islands.  The 
very  platform  connoted  permanent  ownership;  it 
did  not  suggest  any  alienation.  To  the  Repub- 
licans there  was  no  such  thing  as  a  "Filipino- 
American  War";  it  was  no  war  in  any  sense:  it 
was  only  an  "armed  insurrection"  against  the 
legal  authority  of  the  United  States,  just  as  any  in- 
surrection might  start  in  any  other  part  of  the 
Union. 

We  can  view  in  another  light  the  status  of  the 
Filipinos  as  set  forth  in  the  Republican  platform, 
when  we  compare  it  with  that  of  the  Cubans.  The 
Cubans  were,  from  the  very  start,  declared  to  be 
"free  and  independent" — a  sovereign  people; 
while  the  Filipinos  were  to  remain  subjects  of 
the  American  people  and  were  to  be  given  only 
"the  largest  measure  of  self-government  which 
shall  be  consistent  with  their  welfare  and  our 
duties " —  the  duties  of  an  absolute,  sovereign 
power. 

The  Republican  national  convention  nominated 
President  McKinley  without  diflSculty. 

As  for  the  Democrats,  there  was  never  a  doubt 
as  to  who  would  be  the  nominee.  Mr.  Bryan  had 
no  rival.  He  was  generally  accepted  as  a  fit 
spokesman  of  anti-imperialism.  Some  of  the 
strong  Republican  and  even  Democratic  anti-im- 
perialists, however,  were  disgusted  with  his  sup- 


108      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

port  of  the  Paris  treaty,  without  which,  they 
thought,  its  ratification  would  not  have  been  pos- 
sible. On  this  account  Senator  Hoar  refused  to 
support  him  for  the  Presidency.  "  He  made  it  the 
law  of  this  land,"  Senator  Hoar  said,  "  that  the 
American  Congress  should  dispose  of  that  distinct, 
alien  people,  whether  they  liked  it  or  not." 

But  besides  his  intervention  in  the  ratification 
of  the  peace  treaty,  his  ideas  on  coinage,  the  issue 
of  1896,  lost  him  the  support  of  many  who  would 
otherwise  have  opposed  Mr.  McKinley  because  of 
his  Philippine  policy.  While  a  stanch  anti-im- 
perialist champion,  Mr.  Bryan  still  remained  ear- 
nestly for  the  free  coinage  of  silver.  Prominent 
Democrats  impressed  upon  him  the  necessity  of 
renouncing  the  silver  platform  altogether,  making 
imperialism  the  main  issue  of  the  campaign,  and 
thus  securing  the  full  support  of  the  gold  Demo- 
crats and  the  anti-imperialist  Republicans ;  but  Mr. 
Byran  would  not  agree  to  this  plan.^  This  ques- 
tion was  debated  in  the  Committee  on  Resolutions 
of  the  Democratic  convention,  but  it  was  finally 
agreed  to  respect  Mr.  Bryan's  wishes. 

Judging  from  the  wild  enthusiasm  manifested  in 
the  Democratic  convention  over  the  anti-imperial- 
ism plank  of  the  platform,  the  Democrats  were 

8  Stanwood,  A  History  of  the  Presidency,  1897,  1909,  Vol.  II, 
p.  57. 


THE  "PARAMOUNT  ISSUE"  109 

ready  to  dispute  the  Presidential  merits  on  this 
single  question.     The  platform  declared : 

We  condemn  and  denounce  the  Philippine  policy  of 
the  present  Administration.  It  has  embroiled  the  re- 
public in  an  unnecessary  war,  sacrificed  the  lives  of  many 
of  its  noblest  sons,  and  placed  the  United  States,  pre- 
viously known  and  applauded  throughout  the  world  as 
the  champion  of  freedom,  in  the  false  and  un-American 
position  of  crushing  with  military  force  the  efforts  of 
our  former  allies  to  achieve  liberty  and  self-government. 

The  Filipinos  cannot  be  citizens  without  endangering 
our  civilization ;  they  cannot  be  subjects  without  imperil- 
ing our  form  of  government ;  and  as  we  are  not  willing 
to  surrender  our  civilization  or  to  convert  the  republic 
into  an  empire,  we  favor  an  immediate  declaration  of 
the  nation's  purpose  to  give  to  the  Filipinos:  — 

1.  A  stable  form  of  government. 

2.  Independence. 

3.  Protection  from  outside  interference  such  as  has 
been  given  for  nearly  a  century  to  the  republics  of  Cen- 
tral and  South  America. 

The  convention  proclaimed  imperialism  as  "  the 
paramount  issue  of  the  campaign."  At  the  same 
time  it  plainly  stated  that  it  took  no  backward 
step  from  the  party's  former  position  on  other  ques- 
tions. 

It  would,  however,  appear  that  the  Democratic 
policy  toward  the  Philippines  was  not  a  "  scuttle  " 
policy,  as  it  is  often  charged  with  being.  Briefly,  it 
desired  to  establish  a  protectorate  over  the  Philip- 


110      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

pines.  In  his  letter  of  acceptance,  Mr.  Bryan  ex- 
plicitly promised  that,  if  elected,  he  would  imme- 
diately convene  Congress  to  enact  into  law  the 
platform  promise  of  making  a  protectorate  of  the 
Philippines.  "An  American  protectorate,"  he 
said,  "  gives  to  the  nation  protected  the  advantage 
of  our  strength,  without  making  it  the  victim  of 
our  greed.  For  three  quarters  of  a  century  the 
Monroe  Doctrine  has  been  a  shield  to  neighbor-, 
ing  republics  and  yet  it  has  imposed  no  pecuniary 
burden  upon  us.  After  the  Filipinos  had  aided  us 
in  the  war  against  Spain,  we  could  not  honorably 
turn  them  over  to  their  former  masters;  we  would 
not  leave  them  to  be  the  victims  of  the  ambitious 
designs  of  European  nations,  and  since  we  do  not 
desire  to  make  them  a  part  of  us  or  to  hold  them 
as  subjects,  we  propose  the  only  alternative, 
namely,  to  give  them  independence  and  guard  them 
against  molestation  from  without." 

This  position  of  Mr.  Bryan's  was  shared  in  sub- 
stance by  the  late  Senator  Hoar,  the  most  disin- 
terested defender  the  Filipinos  ever  had  in  the  Con- 
gress of  the  United  States.  This  was  his  plan  for 
the  solution  of  the  Philippine  problem : 

I  would  send  General  Wood  or  General  Miles  or  Ad- 
miral Dewey  to  Luzon.  I  would  have  him  gather  about 
him  a  cabinet  of  the  best  men  among  the  Filipinos  who 
have  the  confidence  of  the  people  and  desire  nothing  but 


THE  "PARAMOUNT  ISSUE"  111 

their  welfare.  In  all  provinces  and  municipalities  where 
civil  government  is  now  established  possessing  the  confi- 
dence of  the  people,  I  would  consult  with  their  rulers 
and  representatives. 

I  would  lend  the  aid  of  the  army  of  the  United  States 
only  to  keep  order.  I  would  permit  the  people  to  make 
laws  and  to  administer  laws,  subject  to  some  supervision 
or  inspection  till  the  disturbed  times  are  over  and  peace 
has  settled  down  again  upon  that  country,  insuring  the 
security  of  the  people  against  avarice,  ambition,  or  specu- 
lation. So  soon  as  it  seems  that  government  can  main- 
tain itself  peacefully  and  in  order,  I  would  by  degrees 
withdraw  the  authority  of  the  United  States,  making  a 
treaty  with  them  that  we  would  protect  them  against  the 
cupidity  of  any  other  nation  and  would  lend  our  aid  for 
a  reasonable  time  to  maintain  order  and  law. 

That  this  proposition  was  no  mere  child  of  a 
moment's  inspiration  and  that  further  study  of 
the  question  and  years  of  experience  convinced  Mr. 
Hoar  of  the  justice  of  such  a  measure,  is  shown 
by  the  fact  that  in  his  Autobiography  of  Seventy 
Tears,  written  in  an  atmosphere  free  from  politi- 
cal passion,  the  venerable  senator  said :  "  I  be- 
lieved then,  and  I  believe  now,  that  it  was  our  duty 
to  deliver  them  (the  Philippines)  from  Spain,  to 
protect  them  against  her,  or  against  the  cupidity  of 
any  other  nation  until  their  people  could  have  tried 
fully  the  experiment  of  self-government,  in  which 
I  have  little  doubt  they  would  have  succeeded."  * 
*Hoar,  Autobiography,  Vol.  II,  p.  315. 


112     THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

To  this  proposal  of  a  protectorate,  President  Mc- 
Kinley  had  a  ready  answer.  "  The  American  peo- 
ple are  asked  by  our  opponents,"  he  said  in  his  let-  \ 
ter  of  acceptance  of  the  Republican  nomination,  \ 
"  to  yield  the  sovereignty  of  the  United  States  in 
the  Philippines  to  a  small  fraction  of  the  popula- 
tion, a  single  tribe  out  of  eighty  or  more  inhabiting 
the  archipelago,  a  faction  which  wantonly  attacked 
the  American  troops  in  Manila  while  in  rightful 
possession  under  the  protocol  with  Spain,  awaiting 
the  ratification  of  the  treaty  of  peace  by  the  Sen- 
ate, and  which  has  since  been  in  active,  open  re- 
bellion against  the  United  States.  We  are  asked 
to  transfer  our  sovereignty  to  a  small  minority  in 
the  Islands  without  consulting  the  majority  and 
to  abandon  the  largest  portion  of  the  population, 
which  has  been  loyal  to  us,  to  the  cruelties  of  the 
guerrilla  insurgent  bands.  More  than  this,  we  are 
asked  to  protect  this  minority  in  establishing  a 
government,  and  to  this  end  repress  all  opposition 
of  the  majority.  We  are  required  to  set  up  a  stable 
government  in  the  interest  of  those  who  have  as- 
sailed our  sovereignty  and  fired  upon  our  soldiers, 
and  then  maintain  it  at  any  cost  or  sacrifice  against 
its  enemies  within  and  against  those  having  am- 
bitious designs  from  without." 

While  President  McKinley  was  thus  proclaim-  ■ 
ing  to  the  American  people  that  American  sov- 


THE  "PARAMOUNT  ISSUE"  113 

ereignty  was  being  joyfully  received  by  the  ma- 
jority of  the  Filipinos,  Mr.  Roosevelt,  the  vice- 
presideutial  nominee,  on  the  other  hand,  was  draw- 
ing graphic  pictures  of  Filipino  civilization. 
"  The  reasoning  which  justifies  our  having  made 
war  against  Sitting  Bull,"  he  said,  "  also  justifies 
our  having  checked  the  outbreaks  of  Aguinaldo  and  i 
his  followers,  directed,  as  they  were,  against  Fill-  | 
pino  and  American  alike.  ...  To  grant  self-gov- 
ernment to  Luzon  under  Aguinaldo  would  be  like 
granting  self-government  to  an  Apache  reservation 
under  some  local  chief."  These  words  were  not 
said  on  the  mere  spur  of  the  moment  at  some 
political  mass  meeting.  They  are  to  be  found 
verbatim  in  Mr.  Roosevelt's  carefully  prepared  let- 
ter of  acceptance  of  his  nomination  as  Vice-Presi- 
dent. In  his  spectacular  electoral  campaign 
tours  he  made  extensive  use  of  these  unjust  misrep- 
resentations of  Filipino  life  and  civilization,  de- 
picting in  glowing  colors  and  with  much  exaggera- 
tion the  supposed  similarity  between  Sitting  Bull 
and  Aguinaldo,  between  an  Apache  reservation  and 
the  home  of  the  Filipino  people. 

But  these  were  not  by  any  means  the  only  argu- 
ments employed  by  the  Republicans  in  1900.  The 
imperialistic  rallying  cry  was  still  attracting  hear- 
ers. Visions  of  military  glory  and  commercial  ad- 
vantage had  not  yet  faded.     Some  still  spiritedly 


114     THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

contended  that  American  occupation  of  the  Philip- 
pines was  but  the  next  logical  step  of  American  ex- 
pansion. The  Republican  campaign  book  con- 
tained the  following  words  of  Senator  Lodge: 

All  our  vast  growth  and  expansion  have  been  due  to 
the  spirit  of  our  race,  and  have  been  guided  by  the  in- 
stinct of  the  American  people,  which  in  all  great  crises 
has  proved  wiser  thsin  any  reasoning.  This  mighty 
movement  westward,  building  up  a  nation  and  conquer- 
ing a  continent  as  it  swept  along,  has  not  been  the  work 
of  chance  or  accident.  It  was  neither  chance  nor  acci- 
dent which  brought  us  to  the  Pacific  and  which  has  now 
carried  us  across  the  great  ocean  even  to  the  shores  of 
Asia,  to  the  very  edge  of  the  cradle  of  the  Aryans, 
whence  our  far-distant  ancestors  started  on  the  march 
which  has  since  girdled  the  world. 

Call  up  your  own  history  as  witness.  It  was  not  inev- 
itable that  we  should  take  Louisiana.  "We  could  have 
remained  shut  up  between  the  Mississippi  and  the  At- 
lantic and  allowed  another  people  to  build  the  great  city 
where  New  Orleans  stands.  But  it  was  inevitable,  if  we 
followed  the  true  laws  of  our  being,  that  we  should  be 
masters  of  the  Mississippi  and  spread  from  its  mouth  to 
its  source.  It  was  not  inevitable  that  the  Union  of 
States  should  endure.  Had  we  so  chosen  we  could  have 
abandoned  it,  but  if  we  had  abandoned  it  we  should 
have  gone  down  to  nothingness,  a  disintegrated  chaos  of 
petty  republics.  "We  determined  that  the  Union  should 
live,  and  then  it  was  inevitable  that  it  should  come  to 
what  it  is  to-day.  There  was  nothing  inevitable  about 
the  Monroe  Doctrine.    We  need  never  have  asserted  it, 


THE  "PARAMOUNT  ISSUE"  115 

need  never  have  maintained  it.  Had  we  failed  to  do 
both,  we  should  have  had  Europe  established  all  about 
us;  we  should  have  been  forced  to  become  a  nation  of 
great  standing  armies;  our  growth  and  power  would 
have  been  choked  and  stifled.  But  we  have  declared  and 
upheld  it.  We  have  insisted  that  all  the  world  should 
heed  it,  and  it  is  one  of  the  signs  of  the  times  that  in  The 
iHague  convention  we  have  obtained  at  last  a  formal 
recognition  of  it  from  all  the  nations  of  Europe.  .  .  . 

Like  every  great  nation,  we  have  come  more  than  once 
in  our  history  to  where  the  road  of  fate  divided.  Thus 
far  we  have  never  failed  to  take  the  right  path.  Again 
are  we  come  to  the  parting  of  the  ways.  Again  a  mo- 
mentous choice  is  offered  to  us.  Shall  we  hesitate  and 
make,  in  coward  fashion,  what  Dante  calls  "  the  great 
refusal  "?  Even  now  we  can  abandon  the  Monroe  Doc- 
trine, we  can  reject  the  Pacific,  we  can  shut  ourselves  up 
between  our  oceans,  as  Switzerland  is  inclosed  among  her 
hills,  and  then  it  would  be  inevitable  that  we  should  sink 
out  from  among  the  great  powers  of  the  world  and  heap 
up  riches  that  some  stronger  and  bolder  people,  who  do 
not  fear  their  fate,  might  gather  them.  Or  we  may  fol- 
low the  true  laws  of  our  being,  the  laws  in  obedience  to 
which  we  have  come  to  be  what  we  ave,  and  then  we  shall 
stretch  out  into  the  Pacific ;  we  shall  stand  in  the  front 
rank  of  the  world  powers ;  we  shall  give  to  our  labor  and 
our  industry  new  and  larger  and  better  opportunities; 
we  shall  prosper  ourselves;  we  shall  benefit  mankind. 
What  we  have  done  was  inevitable  because  it  was  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  laws  of  our  being  as  a  nation,  in  the 
defiance  and  disregard  of  which  lie  ruin  and  retreat.' 

6  The  Battle  of  1900  —"  Issues  and  Platforms  of  all  Parties," 
p.  191. 


116      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 
To  this  argument  Mr.  Bryan  replied: 

Our  opponents,  conscious  of  the  weakness  of  their 
cause,  seek  to  confuse  imperialism  with  expansion,  and 
have  even  dared  to  claim  Jefferson  as  a  supporter  of 
their  policy.  Jefferson  spoke  so  freely  and  used  lan- 
guage with  such  precision  that  no  one  can  be  ignorant  of 
his  views.  On  one  occasion  he  declared:  **  If  there  be 
one  principle  more  deeply  rooted  than  any  other  in  the 
mind  of  every  American,  it  is  that  we  should  have  noth- 
ing to  do  with  conquest."  And  again  he  said:  **  Con- 
quest is  not  in  our  principles ;  it  is  inconsistent  with  our 
government. ' ' 

The  forcible  annexation  of  territory  to  be  governed  by 
arbitrary  power  differs  as  much  from  the  acquisition  of 
territory  to  be  built  up  into  States  as  a  monarchy  differs 
from  a  democracy.  The  Democratic  party  does  not  op- 
pose expansion  when  expansion  enlarges  the  area  of  the 
republic  and  incorporates  land  which  can  be  settled  by 
American  citizens,  or  adds  to  our  population  people  who 
are  willing  to  become  citizens  and  are  capable  of  dis- 
charging their  duties  as  such. 

The  acquisition  of  the  Louisiana  territory,  Florida, 
Texas,  and  other  tracts  which  have  been  secured  from 
time  to  time  enlarged  the  republic  and  the  Constitution 
followed  the  flag  into  the  new  territory.  It  is  now  pro- 
posed to  seize  upon  distant  territory  more  densely  popu- 
lated than  our  own  country  and  to  force  upon  the  people 
a  government  for  which  there  is  no  warrant  in  our  Con- 
stitution or  our  laws. 

All  these  brilliant  presentations  of  the  pros  and 
cons  of  imperialism  were  made  during  the  earlier 


THE  "PARAMOUNT  ISSUE"  117 

stage  of  the  Presidential  campaign.  Later,  as  the 
contest  raged  with  greater  fury,  Mr.  Bryan  was 
seen  to  be  laying  stress  upon  other  questions.  His 
firm  position  on  these  other  issues  during  the  con- 
vention had  already  alienated  the  support  of  many 
influential  men  who  would  otherwise  have  sup- 
ported his  anti-imperialist  attitude,  no  matter  how 
much  they  might  personally  have  preferred  Mr. 
McKinley.  The  injection  into  the  campaign  of 
questions  other  than  imperialism  doubtless  de- 
cided many  such  men  to  throw  their  support  to  Mr. 
McKinley.  The  issues  of  the  campaign  were, 
therefore,  confused.  There  are  Americans  who 
deny  that  "  imperialism  "  was  in  effect  the  "  para- 
mount "  issue.  Many  writers  say  that  if  Mr.  Bryan 
had  clung  to  the  sole  issue  of  imperialism,  the 
American  people,  who  at  heart  have  always  been 
anti-imperialist,  would  have  supported  him.  The 
result  of  the  election  was,  therefore,  in  no  definite 
sense,  the  expression  of  a  desire  of  the  American 
people  permanently  to  retain  the  Philippines. 

But  whatever  difference  of  opinion  there  might 
be  among  Americans  as  to  what  the  American  peo- 
ple really  meant  to  express  when  they  placed  the 
Republicans  again  in  power,  outside  of  America 
there  was  a  unanimity  of  opinion  that  the  result  of 
the  election  meant  the  adoption  by  the  United 
States  of  an  imperialistic  policy.     "  Let  the  para- 


118     THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

mount  issue  for  Americans  be  what  it  might,"  said 
Goldwin  Smith,*  "  for  the  world  at  large  it  was 
and  is  that  between  the  commonwealth  and  em- 
pire. Shall  the  American  republic  be  what  it  has 
hitherto  been,  follow  its  own  destiny,  and  do  what 
it  can  to  fulfil  the  special  hopes  which  humanity- 
has  founded  on  it ;  or  shall  it  slide  into  an  imitation 
of  European  imperialism,  and  be  drawn,  with  the 
military  powers  of  Europe,  into  a  career  of  con- 
quest and  domination  over  subject  races,  with  the 
political  liabilities  which  such  a  career  entails? 
This  was  and  is  the  main  issue  for  humanity. 
Seldom  has  a  nation  been  brought  so  distinctly  as 
the  American  nation  now  is  to  the  parting  of  the 
ways.  Never  has  a  nation's  choice  been  more  im- 
portant to  mankind." 

«  Goldwin  Smith,  OommontDealth  or  Empire,  p.  1. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE   STRUGGLE   OVER  A  LEGISLATIVE  ASSEMBLY 

THE  opponents  of  Philippine  retention  were 
not  dismayed  at  the  result  of  the  1900  elec- 
tion. They  took  courage  and  continued  their  agi- 
tation, not  only  because  they  maintained,  with  rea- 
son, that  the  result  of  the  election  was  not  a  cate- 
gorical expression  of  the  American  people  on  the 
Philippine  question,  but  also  because  they  knew 
that  all  their  work  was  not  in  vain. 

The  American  people  were  now  coming  to  the 
period  of  second  sober  thought  They  were  be- 
ginning to  realize  the  tremendous  responsibility 
they  had  assumed.  America  of  1898,  drunk  with 
Dewey's  victory,  dreaming  of  the  imperial  days 
when  the  vast  oceans  should  be  sprinkled  with 
American  colonies,  was  no  longer  the  America  of 
1901  with  millions  of  her  money  spent  in  the  war 
of  subjugation,  and  with  80,000  of  her  soldiers  in 
the  wilds  of  the  Philippines  engaged  in  daily 
skirmishes  with  insurrectos.^ 

1  Mr.  Bryce,  in  his  American  Commonwealth,  p.  579,  speaks 
of  this  stage  of  American  imperialism  as  the  "sudden  im- 
perialistic impulse  of  1898-1900." 

119 


120      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

The  powerful  appeals  of  men  of  such  unblem- 
ished political  character  as  George  F.  Hoar,  Carl 
Schurz,  and  many  others,  who  were  unwillingly 
forced  to  oppose  the  Philippine  policy  of  their  be- 
loved party  because  they  were  convinced  that  their 
sense  of  justice  and  morality  would  not  permit 
them  to  do  otherwise,  could  not  fail  to  impress 
many  of  their  countrymen. 

The  following  retrospect  of  the  Philippine  situa- 
tion by  Senator  Hoar  is  worthy  of  a  serious  pe- 
rusal, being  one  of  the  most  illuminating  presenta- 
tions of  the  Philippine  cause : 

When  Aguinaldo  said  he  did  not  want  the  war  to 
go  on,  and  that  it  went  on  against  his  wish,  he  was  told 
by  our  general  that  he  would  not  parley  with  him  with- 
out total  submission.  My  friend  from  Wisconsin  de- 
clared in  the  Senate  that  we  would  have  no  talk  with 
men  with  arms  in  their  hands,  whether  we  were  right  or 
wrong.  The  responsibility  of  everything  that  has  hap- 
pened since,  which  he  must  have  foreseen  if  he  knew 
something  of  history  and  human  nature,  rests  upon  him 
and  the  men  who  acted  with  him. 

We  cannot  get  rid  of  this  one  fact,  we  cannot  escape 
it,  and  we  cannot  flinch  from  it.  You  chose  war  instead 
of  peace.  You  chose  force  instead  of  conciliation,  with 
full  notice  that  everything  that  has  happened  since 
would  happen  as  a  consequence  of  your  decision.  Had 
you  made  a  declaration  to  Aguinaldo  that  you  would 
respect  their  title  to  independence,  and  that  all  you  de- 
sired was  order  and  to  fulfil  the  treaty  and  to  protect 


THE  LEGISLATIVE  ASSEMBLY       121 

your  friends,  you  would  have  disarmed  that  people  in  a 
moment.  I  believe  there  never  has  been  a  time  since 
when  a  like  declaration  made  by  this  chamber  alone,  but 
certainly  made  by  this  chamber  and  the  other  house,  with 
the  approval  of  the  President,  would  not  have  ended  this 
conflict  and  prevented  all  these  horrors. 

Instead  of  that,  gentlemen  talked  of  the  wealth  of  the 
Philippine  Islands,  and  about  the  advantage  to  our  trade. 
They  sought  to  dazzle  our  eyes  with  nuggets  of  other 
men's  gold.  Senators  declared  in  the  senate  chamber 
and  on  the  hustings  that  the  flag  never  shall  be  hauled 
down  in  the  Philippine  Islands,  and  those  of  you  who 
think  otherwise  kept  silent  and  enter  no  disclaimer. 

It  would  be  without  avail  to  repeat  in  the  Senate  to- 
day what  was  said  at  the  time  of  the  Spanish  treaty,  and 
afterwards  when  you  determined  to  reduce  the  Philip- 
pine people  by  force  to  submission. 

"What  your  fathers  said  when  they  founded  the  repub- 
lic ;  the  Declarations  of  Independence ;  the  great  leaders 
of  every  generation;  our  century  of  glorious  history, 
were  appealed  to  in  vain.  Their  lessons  fell  upon  the 
ears  of  men  dazzled  by  military  glory  and  delirious  with 
the  lust  of  conquest.  I  will  not  repeat  them  now.  My 
desire  to-day  is  simply  to  call  attention  to  the  practical 
working  of  the  two  doctrines  —  the  doctrine  of  buying 
sovereignty  or  conquering  it  in  battle,  and  the  doctrine 
of  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  For  the  last  three 
years  you  have  put  one  of  them  in  force  in  Cuba  and  the 
other  in  the  Philippine  Islands.  I  ask  you  to  think 
soberly  which  method,  on  the  whole,  you  like  better,  I 
ask  you  to  compare  the  cost  of  war  with  the  cost  of  peace, 
of  justice  with  that  of  injustice,  the  cost  of  empire  with 


122     THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

the  cost  of  Republican  liberty,  the  cost  of  the  way  of 
America  and  the  cost  of  Europe,  of  the  doctrine  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  with  the  doctrine  of  the 
Holy  Alliance.  You  have  tried  both,  I  hope,  to  your 
heart's  content. 

When  we  ratified  the  treaty  of  Paris  we  committed 
ourselves  to  one  experiment  in  Cuba  and  another  in  the 
Philippines.  We  had  said  already  that  Cuba  of  right 
ought  to  be  free  and  independent.  So  when  in  the  treaty 
Spain  abandoned  her  sovereignty  the  title  of  Cuba  be- 
came at  once  complete.  We  were  only  to  stay  there  to 
keep  order  until  we  could  hand  over  Cuba  to  a  govern- 
ment her  people  had  chosen  and  established. 

By  the  same  treaty  we  bought  the  Philippine  Islands 
for  $20,000,000  and  declared  and  agreed  that  Congress 
shall  dispose  of  them.  So,  according  to  those  who  held 
the  treaty  valid,  it  became  the  duty  of  the  President  to 
reduce  them  to  submission  and  of  Congress  to  govern 
them. 

Here  the  two  doctrines  are  brought  into  sharp  an- 
tagonism. 

You  have  given  both  doctrines  a  three  years'  trial. 
Three  years  is  sometimes  a  very  long  time  and  some- 
times a  very  short  time  in  human  affairs.  .  .  . 

Three  years  has  wrought  a  mighty  change  in  Cuba, 
and  it  has  wrought  a  mighty  change  in  the  Philippine 
Islands.  We  have  had  plenty  of  time  to  try  both  experi- 
ments. 

Gentlemen  talk  about  sentimentalities,  about  idealism. 
They  like  practical  statesmanship  better.  But,  Mr.  Pres- 
ident, this  whole  debate  for  the  last  four  years  has  been 
a  debate  between  two  kinds  of  sentimentality.    There  has 


THE  LEGISLATIVE  ASSEMBLY       123 

been  practical  statesmanship  in  plenty  on  both  sides. 
Your  sides  have  carried  their  sentimentalities  and  ideals 
out  in  your  practical  statesmanship.  The  other  have 
tried  and  begged  to  be  allowed  to  carry  theirs  out  in 
practical  statesmanship  also.  .  .  . 

You  also,  my  imperialistic  friends,  have  had  your 
ideals  and  your  sentimentalities.  One  is  that  the  flag 
shall  never  be  hauled  down  where  it  has  once  floated. 
Another  is  that  you  will  not  talk  or  reason  with  a  peo- 
ple with  arms  in  their  hands.  Another  is  that  sov- 
ereignty over  an  unwilling  people  may  be  bought  with 
gold.  And  another  is  that  sovereignty  may  be  got  by 
force  of  arms,  as  the  booty  of  battle  or  the  spoils  of  vic- 
tory. 

What  has  been  the  practical  statesmanship,  which 
comes  from  your  ideals  and  your  sentimentalities  ?  You 
have  wasted  six  hundred  millions  of  treasure.  You 
have  sacrificed  nearly  10,000  American  lives  —  the  flower 
of  our  youth.  You  have  devastated  provinces.  You 
have  slain  uncounted  thousands  of  the  people  you  desire 
to  benefit.  You  have  established  reconeentration  camps. 
Your  generals  are  coming  home  from  their  harvest, 
bringing  their  sheaves  with  them,  in  the  shape  of  other 
thousands  of  sick  and  wounded  and  insane  to  drag  out 
miserable  lives,  wrecked  in  body  and  mind.  You  make 
the  American  flag  in  the  eyes  of  a  numerous  people  the 
emblem  of  sacrilege  in  Christian  churches,  and  of  the 
burning  of  human  dwellings,  and  of  the  horror  of  the 
water  torture.  Your  practical  statesmanship,  which  dis- 
dains to  take  George  Washington  and  Abraham  Lincoln 
or  the  soldiers  of  the  Revolution  or  of  the  Civil  War  as 
models,  has  looked  in  some  cases  to  Spain  for  your  ex.- 


124      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

ample.  I  believe  —  nay,  I  know  —  that  in  general  our 
officers  and  soldiers  are  humane.  But  in  some  eases  they 
have  carried  on  your  warfare  with  a  mixture  of  Ameri- 
can ingenuity  and  Castilian  cruelty. 

Your  practical  statesmanship  has  succeeded  in  con- 
verting a  people  who  three  years  ago  were  ready  to  kiss 
the  hem  of  the  garment  of  the  American  and  to  welcome 
him  as  a  liberator,  who  thronged  after  your  men  after 
they  landed  on  those  islands  with  benediction  and  grati- 
tude, into  sullen  aijd  irreconcilable  enemies,  possessed 
of  a  hatred  which  centuries  cannot  eradicate. 

What  have  your  ideals  cost  you,  and  what  have  they 
bought  for  you? 

1.  For  the  Philippine  Islands  you  have  had  to  repeal 
the  Declaration  of  Independence. 

For  Cuba  you  had  to  reaffirm  it  and  give  it  new  luster. 

2.  For  the  Philippine  Islands  you  have  had  to  convert 
the  Monroe  Doctrine  into  a  doctrine  of  mere  selfishness. 

For  Cuba  you  acted  on  it  and  vindicated  it. 

3.  In  Cuba  you  have  got  the  eternal  gratitude  of  a 
free  people. 

In  the  Philippine  Islands  you  have  got  the  hatred  and 
sullen  submission  of  a  subjugated  people. 

4.  From  Cuba  you  have  brought  home  nothing  but 
glory. 

From  the  Philippine  Islands  you  have  brought  home 
nothing  of  glory. 

5.  In  Cuba  no  man  thinks  of  counting  the  cost.  The 
few  soldiers  who  came  home  from  Cuba  wounded  or  sick 
carry  about  their  wounds  and  their  pale  faces  as  if  they 
were  medals  of  honor.  What  soldier  glories  in  a  wound 
or  an  empty  sleeve  which  he  got  in  the  Philippines  ? 


THE  LEGISLATIVE  ASSEMBLY       125 

6.  The  conflict  in  the  Philippines  has  cost  you  $600,- 
000,000,  thousands  of  American  soldiers  —  the  flowers  of 
your  youth  —  the  health  and  sanity  of  thousands  more, 
and  hundreds  of  thousands  of  Filipinos  slain. 

This  war,  if  you  call  it  war,  has  gone  on  for  three 
years.  It  will  go  on  in  some  form  for  three  hundred 
years,  unless  this  policy  be  abandoned.  You  will  un- 
doubtedly have  times  of  peace  and  quiet,  or  pretended 
submission.  You  will  buy  men  with  titles  or  office,  or 
salaries.  You  will  intimidate  cowards.  You  will  get 
pretended  and  fawning  submission.  The  land  will  smile 
and  smile  and  seem  at  peace.  But  the  volcano  will  be 
there.  The  lava  will  break  out  again.  You  can  never 
settle  this  thing  until  you  settle  it  right.^ 

Outside  of  America  the  agitation  of  the  advo- 
cates of  Philippine  independence  was  also  received 
with  some  attention.  Subject  peoples  of  other 
climes  considered  their  noble  utterances  as  the 
truer  representatives  of  America's  highest  ideals. 
A  Hindu  scholar  expressed  himself  as  to  one  of 
Senator  Hoar's  speeches  as  follows : 

The  speech  of  Mr.  Hoar,  though  an  address  to  his  own 
countrymen,  is  a  message  of  hope  to  the  whole  world 
which  sank  with  despondency  at  the  sight  of  republican 
America  behaving  like  a  cruel,  tyrannical,  and  rapacious 
empire  in  the  Philippines,  and  particularly  to  the  broken- 
hearted people  of  Asia  who  are  beginning  to  lose  all  con- 
fidence in  the  humanity  of  the  white  races.     Or  is  it  that 

2  From  the  speech  of  Senator  Hoar  in  the  Senate  on  May 
22,  1902,  during  the  discussion  of  the  Philippine  Civil  Govern- 
ment Bill. 


126      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

they  have  lost  it  already?  Hence  all  papers  in  Asia 
should  reprint  his  speech,  translate  it,  and  distribute  it 
broadcast.  Let  it  be  brought  home  to  the  Asiatic  people 
so  that  they  may  work  and  worship  their  champion  and 
his  forefathers.  Thanks  to  the  awakening  in  America, 
thanks  to  the  forces  that  are  at  work  to  chase  out  the 
degenerating,  demoralizing  passion  for  territorial  ag- 
grandizement from  the  noble  American  mind  and  save  it 
for  itself  and  for  the  world  at  large  from  the  cancer  of 
imperialism.' 

Another  disquieting  phase  of  the  situation  from 
the  standpoint  of  the  imperialists  was  the  unex- 
pected length  of  the  war.  In  spite  of  the  monthly 
or  yearly  reports  of  American  representatives  in 
the  Philippines  that  the  situation  in  the  Islands 
was  improving  every  day,  that  the  "  insurrection  " 
was  to  end  at  any  minute,  that  the  vast  majority  of 
the  people  favored  American  rule,  that  the  struggle 
was  being  carried  on  only  by  "one  of  the  eighty 
tribes,"  inspired  by  the  "  sinister  ambition  "  of  a 
leader,  the  war  dragged  on  for  more  than  three 
years,  requiring  the  expenditure  of  millions  of 
American  money  and  the  ultimate  presence  in  the 
Islands  of  some  120,000  American  soldiers.  Every 
American  general,  when  pressed  for  an  opinion  on 
the  war,  had  to  admit  that  the  entire  population 
was  up  against  American  sovereignty,  that  the  "  in- 

•  Japan  "Times,"  June  17,  1902,  quoted  in  Senator  Hoar's 
Autobiographv,  p.  325. 


THE  LEGISLATIVE  ASSEMBLY       127 

surrection  "  was  not  the  creation  of  the  "  sinister 
ambition  "  of  a  few  leaders,  but  the  united  efforts 
of  an  entire  people  to  achieve  their  country's  free- 
dom. General  MacArthur  himself  had  to  confess 
that  he  had  "  been  reluctantly  compelled  to  believe 
that  the  Filipino  masses  are  loyal  to  Aguinaldo  and 
the  Government  which  he  heads." 

Still  another  worry  for  the  Administration  was 
found  in  reports  that  now  and  then  crept  into  the 
newspapers  of  the  tortures  practised  by  the  Ameri- 
can soldiers  upon  the  natives  to  extort  confessions 
as  to  the  whereabouts  of  insurgents  or  their  arms. 
These  abominable  practices  were  indulged  in,  in 
the  phrase  of  Senator  Hoar,  with  a  mixture  of 
"  Castilian  cruelty  and  American  ingenuity." 
General  Nelson  A.  Miles  was  so  aroused  by  these 
cruelties  that  he  applied  to  the  Secretary  of  War 
that  he  be  sent  to  the  Philippines  and  be  given  the 
charge  of  Philippine  affairs.  This  request  of  Gen- 
eral Miles  was  the  more  interesting  when  we  recall 
that  he  was  the  man  most  responsible  for  the  blood- 
less annexation  of  Porto  Kico  and  that  he  had  also 
taken  a  prominent  part  in  settling  the  Cuban  prob- 
lem. He  was  convinced  that  an  entirely  different 
policy  was  being  pursued  in  the  Philippines  from 
that  followed  in  Cuba  or  Porto  Kico.  He  boldly 
asserted  that  the  war  of  subjugation  was  being  car- 
ried on  in  the  Philippines  "  with  marked  sever- 


128      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

ity."  He  therefore  asked  that  he  be  allowed  to 
proceed  to  the  Philippines,  taking  with  him  ten 
men  he  would  select  from  Cuba  and  Porto  Rico 
"whose  assistance  has  been  found  useful  in  pro- 
moting friendly  relations  between  the  people  of 
those  islands  and  the  United  States  and  who  could 
properly  explain  to  the  Filipinos  the  benefits  their 
people  have  derived  through  friendly  relations  with 
this  country."  Upon  his  return  he  also  desired  to 
bring  back  to  Washington  a  number  of  Filipinos 
in  order  to  afford  an  opportunity  for  a  full  consul- 
tation, whereby  intelligent  and  definite  action  may 
be  taken  concerning  their  future  destiny."  As  may 
be  recalled,  Mabini  made  an  exactly  indentical  pro- 
posal for  the  cessation  of  hostilities.  Such  sug- 
gestions were  agreeable  to  the  Filipino  people.  It 
was  —  and  is  still  —  their  desire  that  they  be  ac- 
corded the  rights  of  a  people,  and,  as  such,  that  they 
be  consulted  as  regards  their  future  relations  with 
America.  Yet,  as  was  to  be  expected,  General 
Miles's  proposal  was  refused.  Secretary  of  War 
Root  even  administered  to  him  a  rebuke  for  his 
boldness  in  making  such  an  offer,  remarking  that  it 
was  not  within  the  bounds  of  "  the  propriety  of  a 
military  ofl&cer  to  review  the  action  of  the  Presi- 
dent." 

Pressed  by  the  logic  of  circumstances  and  the 
changing  mind  of  the  American  people,  the  im- 


THE  LEGISLATIVE  ASSEMBLY       129 

perialists  were  now  seen  to  have  softened  in  their 
representations  of  the  objects  of  American  occupa- 
tion in  the  Philippines.  Glory,  power,  and  com- 
merce were  no  longer  invoked  to  any  marked  ex- 
tent. American  retention  of  the  Philippines  was 
now  defended  on  an  entirely  different  ground  — 
philanthropy.  America  was  in  the  Philippines  to 
fulfil  a  noble  mission,  the  mission  of  educating  the 
Filipinos  and  preparing  them  for  self-government. 
"  It  is  a  significant  concession  to  public  opinion," 
declared  Senator  Carmack, "  that  we  no  longer  hear 
the  argument  of  greed  and  avarice  and  the  hunger 
for  other  men's  possessions  openly  and  defiantly 
proclaimed.  I  cannot  help  thinking  that  some- 
thing has  been  yielded  and  something  gained  when 
the  President  of  the  United  States  no  longer  talks 
of  seizing  *  points  of  vantage'  and  no  longer  de- 
fends our  Philippine  venture  by  glorifying  Eng- 
land's despotic  rule  over  subject  races  and  her 
bloody  march  to  empire  across  the  bodies  and 
through  the  blood  of  slaughtered  people.  It  may 
not  signify  any  change  of  heart  or  of  purpose,  but 
it  shows  a  realization  of  the  fact  that  the  public 
conscience  is  awake,  and  it  shows  that  the  authors 
of  this  policy  begin  to  understand  that  they  can- 
not justify  *  criminal  aggression  '  by  pointing  to  the 
profits  of  the  crime.  It  is  a  cheering  sign  that  the 
second  sober  thought  has  come,  that  the  better  na- 


130      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

ture  of  the  American  people  is  again  in  the  as- 
cendant, when  the  party  responsible  for  a  bucaneer; 
ing  war  is  compelled  to  veil  the  grossness  of  its 
designs."  * 

The  coming  of  "America's  second  sober 
thought,"  this  reaction  against  imperialism, 
brought  also  a  change  for  the  better  in  the  Philip- 
pines. William  H.  Taft  was  sent  to  the  Islands 
to  establish  civil  government,  and  he  found  an  in- 
tolerable situation  there.  The  seed  of  greedy  im- 
perialism had  found  fertile  soil  among  his  coun- 
trymen who  had  preceded  him.  American  mer- 
chants were  convinced  that  the  Philippines  were 
theirs  to  get  the  most  out  of  them.  Military  men 
found  the  Islands  a  stepping-stone  to  further  glory 
and  promotion.  The  wishes  and  aspirations  of  the 
Filipino  people  counted  for  naught.  Any  mention 
of  independence  was  anathema.  The  greatest  serv- 
ice Mr.  Taft  ever  rendered  the  Filipino  people  was 
his  struggle  against  these  military  men  and  mer- 
chants. He  made  them  understand  that  Philip- 
pine exploitation  would  not  be  tolerated  at  home, 
and  announced  to  them  his  ever  famous  motto, 
"  The  Philippines  for  the  Filipinos."  The  whole 
American  community  rose  up  against  him  in  this 
phase  of  his  policy.  American  newspapers  —  con- 
trolled by  the  American  interests,  of  course  — 
*  Speech  In  the  Senate,  May  31,  1902. 


THE  LEGISLATIVE  ASSEMBLY       131 

spared  no  words  in  condemnation  of  his  attitude. 
Replying  to  a  vicious  attack  of  an  American  paper, 
he  said : 

There  are  many  Americans  in  these  islands,  possibly  a 
majority,  and  this  includes  all  the  American  press,  who 
are  strongly  opposed  to  the  doctrine  of  ' '  The  Philippines 
for  the  Filipinos. ' '  They  have  no  patience  with  the  pol- 
icy of  attraction,  no  patience  with  the  attempts  to  con- 
ciliate the  Filipino  people,  no  patience  with  the  introduc- 
tion into  the  government  as  rapidly  as  their  fitness  justi- 
fies of  the  prominent  Filipinos.  They  resent  everything 
in  the  government  that  is  not  American.  They  insist 
that  there  is  a  necessity  for  a  firm  government  here 
rather  than  a  popular  one,  and  that  the  welfare  of  Amer- 
icans and  American  trade  should  be  regarded  as  par- 
amount. 

To  gain  popular  favor  for  his  policy  of  the 
"Philippines  for  the  Filipinos,"  Mr.  Taft  and  his 
associates  in  the  Philippine  Commission  petitioned 
the  Congress  of  the  United  States  to  grant  the  Fili- 
pino people  a  lower  house  of  legislature  so  that, 
together  with  an  appointive  higher  council,  if 
might  form  the  legislative  branch  of  the  Philippine 
Government.  They  also  asked  that  the  Philippines 
be  allowed  to  elect  two  delegates  to  the  Congress  of 
the  United  States.  This  much  Mr.  Taft  was  will- 
ing to  concede  to  the  Filipino  people. 

The  time  was  now  drawing  near  when  Congress 
must  legislate  for  the  Philippines.     The  President 


132     THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

had  had  a  free  hand  in  controlling  the  Philippine 
Government  for  nearly  four  years.  The  semi-mili- 
tary government  established  in  the  Islands  was 
shortly  to  be  changed  into  a  purely  civil  form.  To 
reinforce  the  petition  of  the  Commission  on  the 
prospective  legislation  and  to  inform  Congress  of 
the  conditions  in  the  Philippines,  Mr.  Taft  came  to 
Washington.  He  appeared  before  the  Insular  Com- 
mittee of  the  House  and  the  Philippines  Com- 
mittee of  the  Senate  and  urged  upon  congressmen 
and  senators  the  necessity  of  giving  the  Filipinos 
a  lower  house  and  two  delegates  in  Congress. 
"We  think  that  the  Filipino  people,"  he  said, 
"would  accept  this  provision  as  the  most  indubi- 
table evidence  of  the  desire  of  the  United  States  that 
self-government  should  be  given  to  the  people  in  as 
large  a  measure  as  they  are  capable  of  carrying 
it  on." 

From  the  beginning,  Mr.  Taft  found  few  sym- 
pathizers for  this  concession  to  the  Filipinos 
among  those  Republican  senators  to  whom  the  Ad- 
ministration looked  for  support  on  all  Philippine 
matters.  Senator  Lodge,  chairman  of  the  Philip- 
pines Committee,  was  entirely  against  the  legisla- 
tive provision,  and  so  were  Senators  Beveridge, 
Allison,  Spooner,  and  others.  In  spite  of  Mr. 
Taft's  plea  as  to  the  necessity  of  such  a  provision  in 
order  to  win  the  sympathy  of  the  Filipinos,  they 


THE  LEGISLATIVE  ASSEMBLY       133 

were  firm  in  contending  that  it  was  over-radical 
and  fraught  with  evil  for  the  Filipinos  since  the 
latter  could  have  no  conception  of  such  institutions. 
Fortunately,  in  the  House  of  Representatives 
Mr.  Taft  found  an  ally  in  the  chairman  of  the  In- 
sular Committee,  Mr.  H.  A.  Cooper  of  Wisconsin, 
but  the  Republican  leaders  of  the  House,  like  those 
of  the  Senate,  were  against  it.  Speaker  Hender- 
son was  specially  interested  in  eliminating  from 
the  bill  provision  for  an  assembly.  In  his  own 
committee,  Mr.  Cooper  had  to  contend  with  many 
strong  Republicans  who  were  also  opposed  to  the 
legislative  assembly  provision.  It  was  said  at  the 
time  that  the  Insular  was  the  strongest  committee 
ever  formed  in  the  House,  in  reality  a  committee  of 
chairmen  of  committees,  a  fact  which  showed  how 
seriously  the  Republicans  were  then  studying  the 
Philippine  situation.  On  the  committee  were  Mr. 
J.  G.  Cannon,  chairman  of  the  Appropriations 
Committee,  afterwards  speaker;  Mr.  Payne,  chair- 
man of  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee ;  Col.  Peter 
Hepburn,  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Inter- 
state and  Foreign  Commerce;  Mr.  Loud  of  Cali- 
fornia, chairman  of  the  Committee  on  the  Post- 
offices  and  Post-roads;  Mr.  Hitt,  chairman  of  the 
Committee  on  Foreign  Affairs;  Mr.  Moody,  later 
Mr.  Justice  Moody,  of  the  United  States  Supreme 
Court;  Mr.  Crumpacker  of  Indiana;  and  Mr.  Taw- 


134      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

ney  of  Minnesota.  On  the  Democratic  side  there 
were  Mr.  Jones  of  Virginia;  Mr.  J.  S.  Williams  of 
Mississippi,  now  United  States  Senator;  Mr.  Mad- 
dox  of  Georgia,  and  others. 

The  House  and  Senate  Philippine  bills  were  in- 
troduced on  the  same  day,  January  7,  1902.  There 
were  material  differences  between  the  two.  Mr. 
Cooper,  in  his  bill,  incorporated  the  main  recom- 
mendations of  Mr.  Taft.  The  House  Bill  provided 
that  after  peace  should  have  been  declared  and  a 
census  taken,  a  general  election  should  be  called 
for  the  selection  of  representatives  to  form  a  popu- 
lar assembly.  The  measure  also  provided  for  the 
election  by  the  Assembly  and  commission  of  two 
delegates  to  represent  the  Philippines  in  Washing- 
ton. The  Senate  Bill  did  not  provide  either  for  an 
assembly  or  for  delegates.  Instead,  it  directed 
the  Philippine  Commission  to  recommend,  after 
the  taking  of  the  census,  the  permanent  form  of 
civil  government  that  it  desired  established  in  the 
Philippines. 

The  Senate  was  first  to  take  action  on  the  ques- 
tion. It  passed  its  own  bill  practically  as  that 
measure  was  reported  from  the  Committee  on  the 
Philippines.  The  Democratic  minority  of  the  Sen- 
ate, supported  by  the  Republican  senators,  Mr. 
Hoar  and  Mr.  Wellington,  then  filed  a  substitute 
amendment  in  the  form  of  a  bill.     This  substitute 


THE  LEGISLATIVE  ASSEMBLY       135 

declared  American  sovereignty  in  the  Islands  to  be 
temporary,  and  provided  that,  upon  the  cessation 
of  the  organized  opposition  to  the  "  temporary  sov- 
ereignty "  of  the  United  States,  a  convention 
should  be  called  to  elect  a  Senate  and  a  House  of 
Representatives  to  constitute  a  temporary  Con- 
gress. This  convention  was  to  hold  office  for  not 
more  than  four  years.  Section  8  of  the  bill  dealt 
specifically  with  the  duties  of  the  convention  and 
the  definite  withdrawal  of  American  sovereignty 
as  follows: 

Sec.  8.  That  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Philip- 
pine Congress  herein  provided  for  to  prescribe  rules  and 
regulations  and  qualifications  for  electors  for  the  elec- 
tion and  holding  of  a  constitutional  convention  which 
shall  be  charged  with  the  duty  of  framing  a  permanent 
government  for  the  people  of  the  Philippine  Archipel- 
ago. Said  constitutional  convention  shall  be  called  to 
meet  at  such  place  and  at  such  time,  not  later  than  the 
first  Monday  of  January,  1905,  as  may  be  prescribed  by 
said  Philippine  Congress.  Upon  the  completion  of  the 
labors  of  said  convention  and  the  inauguration  of  the  gov- 
ernment consequent  thereupon,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of 
the  President  of  the  United  States  to  issue  his  proclama- 
tion declaring  the  absolute  and  unqualified  independ- 
ence of  the  people  of  the  Philippine  Archipelago  and 
that  they  constitute  an  independent  State  and  nation, 
and  upon  the  issuance  of  said  proclamation  the  United 
States  Government  and  the  Philippine  Government 
shall  become  and  be  as  fully  separate  and  independent 


136      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

as  any  other  independent  and  separate  nations  are: 
Provided,  however,  that  if  the  Philippine  Government 
request  it,  the  United  States  Government  hereby  agrees 
to  assume  a  protectorate  over  the  Philippine  Archipelago 
for  a  period  additional  to  the  period  of  the  temporary 
government  herein  provided  for,  said  additional  period 
of  protectorate  not  to  exceed,  however,  the  period  of  six- 
teen years :  Provided,  further,  That  the  said  Philippine 
Government  agree  during  the  said  period  of  additional 
protectorate  to  surrender  to  the  keeping  of  the  United 
States  Government  the  regulation  and  control  of  the  for- 
eign affairs  of  the  Philippine  Archipelago. 

Of  course,  this  independence  measure  had  no 
hope  of  passage. 

When  the  Senate  Republican  Bill  was  sent  to  the 
House,  a  discussion  ensued  in  the  Committee  on 
Insular  Affairs  whether  to  report  it  with  certain 
amendments  or  to  strike  out  all  after  the  enacting 
clause  and  substitute  the  House  Bill.  Several  Re- 
publicans were  in  favor  of  the  first  proposition, 
which,  if  followed,  would  mean  the  elimination  of 
the  legislative  provision.  Through  the  aid  of  the 
Democratic  members  the  second  proposition  was 
adopted,  and  the  House  Bill  substituted  by  way  of 
amendment. 

The  House  Democrats  in  their  turn  introduced  a 
substitute  bill  providing  for  qualified  independence 
from  July  4,  1903,  and  for  eight  years  afterwards, 
and  for  complete  and  absolute  independence,  wdth- 


THE  LEGISLATIVE  ASSEMBLY       137 

out  any  guarantee  of  the  United  States,  after  the 
close  of  the  eight-year  period  of  preparatory  gov- 
ernment. The  necessity  of  developing  a  definite 
policy  was  again  urged  by  the  Democrats.  They 
condemned  the  evasive  "  dodging  "  of  the  real  is- 
sue by  the  Republicans.  The  imperialists,  they 
contended,  four  years  before,  during  the  discussion 
of  the  Paris  treaty  in  the  Commission,  would  not 
make  any  declaration  of  purpose  towards  the  Phil- 
ippines because  that  would  be  giving  "bonds  to 
Spain  "  for  their  conduct  on  a  matter  which  they 
alone  and  not  Europe  must  decide.  When  after 
the  ratification  attempts  were  again  made  to  de- 
clare some  definite  policy,  the  excuse  was  made 
that  the  American  people  should  not  promise  any- 
thing until  the  Filipinos  had  laid  down  their  arms. 
Now  war  was  practically  over  in  the  Philippines 
and  yet  the  Republicans  persisted  in  a  noncom- 
mittal policy,  and  the  Civil  Government  Bill  which 
they  intended  to  pass  was  simply  "  an  act  tem- 
porarily to  provide  for  the  administration  of  the 
affairs  of  civil  government  in  the  Philippine 
Islands  and  for  other  purposes." 

"  The  chief  question  involved,"  contended  the  mi- 
nority report,  signed  by  Mr.  Jones  of  Virginia,  Mr. 
Williams  of  Mississippi,  now  United  States  Sena- 
tor, and  others,  "  is  whether  under  the  guise  of  the 
forms  of  civil  government,  a  policy  unjust  and  cruel 


138     THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

to  the  people  of  the  Philippine  Islands,  and  in- 
jurious and  dishonoring  to  American  citizenship, 
shall  be  indefinitely,  if  not  perpetually,  continued, 
or  that  there  shall  be  substituted  in  its  stead  a  more 
righteous  and  humane  policy,  the  intent  and  pur- 
pose of  which  is  to  confer  upon  that  people,  within 
the  shortest  practicable  period,  and  upon  certain 
reasonable  and  proper  terms  and  concessions,  an 
autonomous  system  of  free  self-government,  based 
upon  the  principle  of  an  independence,  modified  as 
to  their  foreign  affairs,  which  modified  indepen- 
dence, after  the  lapse  of  a  reasonable  period  (af- 
fording that  practical  training  and  actual  expe- 
rience in  the  art  of  self-government  so  necessary  to 
fit  them  for  its  ultimate  exercise  and  full  enjoy- 
ment), shall  eventuate  into  an  unqualified  and 
absolute  independence. 

"Recognizing  that  three  centuries  of  Spanish 
dominion  have  destroyed  all  self-government  in  the 
Philippine  Islands,  and  that  its  people  at  this  time 
are  unprepared  for  its  exercise,  the  theory  upon 
which  this  substitute  measure  is  framed  is  that 
there  should  be  conferred  upon  them  for  a  period 
of  eight  years  the  largest  possible  share  in  the  gov- 
ernment of  themselves  and  in  the  conduct  of  their 
affairs  consistent  with  our  safety  and  best  inter- 
ests and  our  duty  and  obligations  to  the  nations 
of  the  world,  in  order  to  fit  them  for  that  absolute 


THE  LEGISLATIVE  ASSEMBLY        139 

independence  and  self-government  to  which  the 
minority  believe  them  entitled." 

When  questioned  as  to  why  the  Democrats,  while 
professing  to  be  for  Philippine  independence,  ad- 
mitted in  their  report  that  the  Filipinos  were  not 
yet  prepared  for  the  exercise  of  self-government. 
Congressman  Williams  answered : 

Not  unprepared  mentally,  not  unprepared  morally, 
not  unprepared  for  their  measure  of  self-government  at 
the  proper  time,  but  having  no  civic  institutions,  hav- 
ing no  civil  government  except  ours  —  we  having  de- 
stroyed all  other  —  we  ought  not  to  go  away  and  * '  scut- 
tle "  over  night,  leaving  them  without  police,  without 
armies,  without  any  conservators  of  the  peace,  without 
any  governmental  frame-work,  within  which  civilization 
may  work.  For  that  reason  the  Minority  Bill  proposes  a 
bridge  government  —  to  bridge  over  the  interval  from 
the  present  despotic  control  on  our  part  to  their  full 
measure  of  self-government  under  a  government  to  be 
adopted  by  them  such  as  they  see  fit. 

A  people  may  be  unprepared  for  the  exercise  of  self- 
government  at  a  given  time,  because  they  have  no  insti- 
tutions by  means  of  which  to  exercise  it.  Why,  sir,  the 
State  of  Pennsylvania  to-morrow,  if  it  had  not  justices 
of  the  peace  or  governor  or  legislature  or  sheriff,  or 
any  other  officers  of  any  sort,  would  be  left  in  chaos 
and  anarchy.  True,  the  people  of  Pennsylvania,  with 
their  high  degree  of  civilization,  would  in  three  days,  in 
every  township,  correct  that  state  of  affairs.  They 
would  form  vigilance  committees  which  would  hold  the 
lawless  element  down  until  they  could  organize  some  sort 


140      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

of  government.    But  for  the  time  being  there  would  be 
anarchy,  and  no  exercise  of  self-government. 

Yet  the  gentleman  takes  hold  of  that  clause  of  our 
report  and  tries  to  say  that  we  ourselves  deny  that  those 
people  are  capable  of  self-government.  Surely  the  gen- 
tleman must  have  seen  the  difference  between  the  sen- 
tence as  written — "  three  hundred  years  of  Spanish 
oppression  have  destroyed  self-government  ' ' —  and  the 
sentence  as  he  would  have  you  understand  it — *'  three 
hundred  years  of  Spanish  oppression  have  destroyed  the 
capacity  of  self-government." 

The  Democrats,  however,  knew  that  efforts  to 
pass  their  bill  must  necessarily  be  fruitless. 

During  the  course  of  the  debate  in  the  House  on 
the  Republican  Bill  many  prominent  Republicans 
expressed  their  desire  to  vote  against  the  legisla- 
tive provision.  Mr.  Watson,  Mr.  Laudis  of  Indi- 
ana, and  Mr.  Hill  of  Connecticut  were  strongly  op- 
posed to  it.  The  idea  that  the  Filipinos  should 
elect  a  lower  House  was  ridiculed.  The  Filipinos 
were  pictured  as  just  emerging  from  a  state  of 
savagery  and  were  therefore  said  to  be  incapable 
of  holding  any  election.  One  very  prominent 
member,  a  man  of  even  international  reputation 
as  an  American  statesman,  went  to  the  extreme  of 
calling  the  Filipinos  "pirates,"  "barbarians,"  "in- 
capable of  civilization."  It  was  at  this  time  when 
hope  had  almost  gone  for  the  passage  of  the  bill 
with  the  legislative  provision  that  Mr.  Cooper,  in 


THE  LEGISLATIVE  ASSEMBLY        141 

a  moment  of  inspiration,  recited  before  the  full 
membership  of  the  House  the  now  classic  poem 
written  by  Jos6  Rizal,  the  national  hero  of  the  Phil- 
ippines, just  before  he  was  executed  by  the  Span- 
iards. "  I  never  can  forget  that  day,"  Mr.  Cooper 
once  said  to  the  writer.  "  The  seats  were  almost 
all  filled,  and  as  I  was  reciting  those  wonderful 
verses,  so  pathetic  and  yet  so  pregnant  with  lofty 
and  noble  thoughts,  I  looked  at  the  faces  of  those 
who  had  been  slandering  your  people,  and  I  saw 
the  eyes  of  the  man  who  two  days  before  had  called 
you  *  pirates '  and  '  barbarians '  moist  with 
tears."  ^ 

6  MY  LAST  THOUGHT 
(Poem    written   by    Jose   Rizal,    the   national    hero    of   the 
Philippines,   the  night  before  he  was  executed  on   December 
30,  1896.) 

(translation) 
Land   I    adore,    farewell!    thou   land   of   the   southern   sun's 

choosing ! 
Pearl  of  the  Orient  seas!  our  forfeited  garden  of  Eden! 
Joyous,    I   yield   up   for  thee  my   sad   life,   and   were   it   far 

brighter. 
Young,  rose-strewn,  for  thee  and  thy  happiness  still  would  I 

give  it. 
Far  afield,  in  the  din  and  rush  of  maddening  battle. 
Others  have  laid  down  their  lives,  nor  wavered,  nor  paused  in 

the  giving. 
What  matters  way  or  place  —  the  cypress,  the  lily,  the  laurel. 
Gibbet  or  open  field,  the  sword  or  inglorious  torture  — 
When  'tis  the  hearth  and  the  country  that  call  for  the  life's 

immolation? 

Dawn's  faint  light  bar  the  east,  she  smiles  through  the  cowl 

of  the  darkness, 
Just  as  I  die.  .  .  . 


142      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

"Pirates!  Barbarians!  Savages!  Incapable  of 
Civilization ! "  Mr.  Cooper  exclaimed,  after  finish- 
ing the  recitation  of  the  poem.  "  How  many  of 
the  civilized,  Caucasian  slanderers  of  his  race 
could  ever  be  capable  of  thoughts  like  these,  which 
on  that  awful  night,  as  he  sat  alone  amidst  silence 
unbroken  save  by  the  rustling  of  the  black  plumes 
of  the  death  angel  at  his  side,  poured  from  the  soul 

Vision  I  followed  from  far,  desire  that  spurred  on  and  con- 
sumed me! 

Greeting!  my  parting  soul  cries,  and  greeting  again!  O  my 
country ! 

Beautiful  is  it  to  fall,  that  the  vision  may  rise  to  fulfilment, 

Giving  my  life  for  thy  life  and  breathing  thine  air  in  the 
death-throe ; 

Sweet  to  eternally  sleep  in  thy  lap,  O  land  of  enchantment! 

If  in  the  deep  rich  grass  that  covers  my  rest  in  thy  bosom, 
Some  day  thou  seest  upspring  a  lowly  tremulous  blossom, 
Lay  there  thy  lips,  'tis  my  soul.  .  .  . 

And  if  at  eventide  a  soul  for  my  tranquil  sleep  prayeth, 
Pray  thou,  too,  O  my  fatherland !  for  my  peaceful  reposing ; 
Pray  for  those  who  go  down  to  death  through  unspeakable 

torments ; 
Pray  for  those  who  remain  to  suffer  torture  in  prison; 
Pray  for  the  bitter  grief  of  our  mothers,  our  widows,  our 

orphans ; 
Oh,  pray,  too,  for  thyself,  on  the  way  to  thy  final  redemption. 

When  our  still   dwelling  place  wraps   night's  dusky   mantle 

about  her, 
Leaving   the   dead   alone   with   the   dead,   to   watch   till   the 

morning, 
Break  not  our  rest,  and  seek  not  death's  mystery  open. 
And  if  now  and  then  thou  shouldst  hear  the  string  of  a  lute 

or  a  zithern. 
Mine  is  the  hand,  dear  country,  and  mine  is  the  voice  that  Is 

singing. 


THE  LEGISLATIVE  ASSEMBLY       143 

of  the  martyred  Filipino?  Search  the  long  and 
bloody  roll  of  the  world's  martyred  dead,  and 
where  —  on  what  soil,  under  what  sky  —  did  Tyr- 
anny ever  claim  a  nobler  victim  ? 

"  Sir,  the  future  is  not  without  hope  for  a  peo- 
ple which,  from  the  midst  of  such  an  environment, 
has  furnished  to  the  world  a  character  so  lofty  and 
so  pure  as  that  of  Jose  Rizal." 

Mr.    Cooper    has    expressed    the    opinion    that 

When  my  tomb,  that  all  have  forgot,  no  stone  nor  cross 
marketh, 

There  let  the  laborer  guide  his  plow,  there  cleave  the  earth 
open. 

So  shall  my  ashes  at  last  be  one  with  thy  hills  and  thy  valleys. 

Little  'twill  matter  then,  my  country,  that  thou  shouldst  for- 
get me! 

I  shall  be  air  in  thy  streets,  and  I  shall  be  space  in  thy 
meadows, 

I  shall  be  vibrant  speech  in  thine  ears,  shall  be  fragrance  and 
color. 

Light  and  shout,  and  loved  song,  forever  repeating  my  message. 

Idolized  fatherland,  thou  crown  and  deep  of  my  sorrows. 
Lovely  Philippine  Isles,  once  again  adieu!  I  am  leaving 
All   with   thee  —  my   friends,   my   love.     Where   I   go   are   no 

tyrants ; 
There  one  dies  not  for  the  cause  of  his  faith,  there  God  is  the 

ruler. 

Farewell,  father  and  mother  and  brothers,  dear  friends  of  the 

fireside ! 
Thankful  ye  should  be  for  me  that  I  rest  at  the  end  of  the 

long  day. 
Farewell,   sweet,   from  the  stranger's  land,  my  joy  and  my 

comrade ! 
Farewell,  dear  ones,  farawell!    To  die  is  to  rest  from  our 

labors! 


144      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

BizaFs  poem  was  a  perfect  revelation  to  all  the 
members  and  was  in  no  small  measure  influential 
in  finally  securing  the  passage  of  the  hill  in  the 
House  with  a  provision  for  a  legislative  assembly. 

But  that  passage  in  the  House  was  not  by  any 
means  the  end  of  the  contest  against  a  Philippine 
legislative  assembly.  As  the  Senate  Bill  did  not 
contain  a  word  relating  to  the  subject  there  was 
need  of  a  conference.  Congress  would  adjourn  in 
a  few  days,  and  the  opponents  of  the  provision  were 
praying  that  Mr.  Cooper  would  call  for  the  con- 
ference so  that  the  Senate  could  have  the  original 
papers  first,  and  thereupon  take  the  first  action  on 
the  bill.  The  proposed  effect  of  this  move  was 
fully  explained  by  Mr.  Cooper  in  a  letter  to  the 
then  Governor  Taf t,  as  follows : 

Unquestionably,  the  Senate  would  have  been  against 
the  legislative  features,  and  would  have  so  instructed 
their  confreres.  After  such  action  by  the  Senate,  the 
bill  would  have  come  to  the  House;  and  thereupon,  the 
House  opponents  of  the  legislative  assembly  would  have 
made  a  vigorous  fight  for  a  conference  in  the  action  of 
the  Senate  and  with  every  probability  of  success,  as  the 
day  of  the  final  adjournment  (July  1)  had  already  been 
fixed  and  we  reached  the  last  days  of  June,  with  a  cer- 
tainty, in  any  event,  of  a  two  or  three  days'  conference 
between  the  two  Houses  over  the  bill.  The  weather  was 
warm,  the  members  were  very  anxious  to  get  home  to 
attend  to  their  * '  fences  ' '  and  to  get  ready  for  the  cam- 


THE  LEGISLATIVE  ASSEMBLY       145 

paign;  and,  under  these  circumstances,  it  would  have 
been  exceedingly  difficult,  if  not  altogether  impossible, 
to  save  the  legislative  assembly.  I,  therefore,  decided 
not  to  ask  for  a  conference,  and  Tawney  and  others 
emphatically  agreed  with  me  in  this  decision.  But  the 
opposition  was  adroit  and  persistent.  In  the  evening, 
shortly  before  the  vote  was  to  be  taken  in  the  House  on 
the  passage  of  the  bill,  a  messenger  came  to  me,  saying : 
*'  The  Speaker  wants  you  not  to  forget  to  ask  for  a 
conference."  I  replied:  **  Well,  I  will  see  about  it." 
After  the  lapse  of  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes,  the  messen- 
ger returned  to  the  charge,  saying,  "  The  Speaker  told 
me  to  ask  you  not  to  forget  to  request  for  a  confer- 
ence." The  messenger  returned  and  delivered  my  reply, 
which  I  have  reason  to  believe  was  not  specially  ac- 
ceptable. 

Had  the  parliamentary  manoeuver  of  the  Speaker 
been  successful  and  had  Mr.  Cooper  called  a  con- 
ference, the  assembly  provision  would  have  been 
lost.  As  it  happened,  the  Senate  had  to  call  for  a 
conference.  After  day  and  night  sessions  had  been 
held  the  senators  on  the  Conference  Committee 
finally  consented  to  accept  the  plan  for  a  legisla- 
ture with  the  amended  provision  that  the  election 
of  assemblymen  was  to  take  place  two  years  after 
the  publication  of  the  census,  provided  that  by  that 
time  there  was  complete  peace  in  the  Islands. 

I  have  emphasized  the  importance  of  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  Philippine  Assembly  because  it  was 


146      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

the  first  important  concession  ever  given  by  the 
American  people  to  the  Filipinos.  It  was  in  a 
large  way  a  signal  triumph  of  anti-imperialist  ideas. 
Confronted  with  the  weight  of  the  "  consent-of-the- 
governed"  argument,  Mr.  Taft  endeavored  to  se- 
cure provision  for  a  Philippine  legislature  so  that 
he  could  say  that  the  Filipinos  would  not  be  en- 
tirely unheard  in  governmental  affairs  since  they 
would  now  have  an  organ  in  the  Philippine  As- 
sembly. The  somewhat  notable  record  which  the 
Philippine  Assembly  afterwards  made  became  the 
weightiest  argument  which  the  Filipinos  now  wield 
in  behalf  of  their  claim  of  capacity  for  self-govern- 
ment 


CHAPTER  VIII 

PUBLICITY  CAMPAIGN  OF  THE  EETENTIONISTS 

WITH  the  passage  of  the  Philippine  Organic 
Act  the  interest  of  the  American  people  in 
the  future  of  the  Philippines  grew  less  and  less. 
Whatever  fear  they  might  have  had  as  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  truly  imperialistic  policy  in  the 
Islands  was  smoothed  away  by  loud  protestations 
of  benevolent  intentions  repeatedly  made  by  Re- 
publican leaders.  These  Republican  leaders  even 
went  further :  they  not  only  repeated  the  principle 
of  the  "Philippines  for  the  Filipinos/'  but  they 
also  plainly  intimated  that  the  Philippines  were 
ultimately  to  be  given  their  independence.  Now 
such  an  idea  had  not  been  even  hinted  at  by  Presi- 
dent McKinley,  the  man  most  responsible  for  Phil- 
ippine acquisition.  The  word  "independence"  or 
its  equivalent  never  found  place  in  any  of  his  ut- 
terances, speeches,  or  manifestos.  He  did  promise 
the  Filipinos  "  individual  rights "  and,  vaguely, 
ultimate  self-government  in  some  hazy,  distant  fu- 
ture, though  never  the   complete  withdrawal   of 

147 


148      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

American  sovereignty  from  the  Islands.  With  this 
apparent  change  of  attitude  and  intent,  imperialism 
became  no  longer  an  important  issue  in  American 
politics. 

The  Republican  convention  of  1904  was  not  ani- 
mated by  the  same  imperialistic  tendency  that  had 
inspired  the  Philadelphia  convention  four  years  be- 
fore, as  is  seen  from  the  following  words  of  Senator 
Root,  spoken  as  chairman  of  that  convention, 
which  undoubtedly  could  not  have  been  delivered  at 
Philadelphia : 

No  one  can  foretell  the  future;  but  there  seems  no 
reasonable  cause  to  doubt  that  under  the  policy  already 
effectively  inaugurated,  the  institutions  already  im- 
planted, and  the  processes  already  begun  in  the  Philip- 
pine Islands,  if  these  be  not  repressed  and  interrupted, 
the  Philippine  people  will  follow  in  the  footsteps  of 
the  people  of  Cuba;  that  more  slowly,  indeed,  because 
they  are  not  as  advanced,  yet  as  surely,  they  will  grow 
in  capacity  for  self-government  and,  receiving  power  as 
they  grow  in  capacity,  will  come  to  bear  substantially 
such  relations  to  the  people  of  the  United  States  as  do 
now  the  people  of  Cuba,  differing  in  details  as  condi- 
tions and  needs  differ,  but  the  same  in  principle  and  the 
same  in  beneficent  results. 

When  we  compare  the  foregoing  words  with 
Chairman  Lodge's  bald  statement  at  the  convention 
of  1900  that  commercial  expansion  was  the  pri- 
mary motive  of  Philippine  acquisition,  we  cannot 


PUBLICITY  CAMPAIGN  149 

help  being  convinced  that  something  had  really 
been  yielded  to  America's  sober  second  thought. 

The  first  authoritative  intimation  from  the 
American  Government  that  the  Philippines  might 
be  ultimately  independent  was  found  in  the  mes- 
sage of  President  Roosevelt  in  1908,  in  which  he 
said: 

I  trust  that  within  a  generation  the  time  will  arrive 
when  the  Filipinos  can  decide  for  themselves  whether  it 
is  well  for  them  to  become  independent  or  to  continue 
under  the  protection  of  a  strong  and  disinterested  power, 
able  to  guarantee  to  the  Islands  order  at  home  and  pro- 
tection from  foreign  invasion. 

In  opening  the  Philippine  Assembly  on  October 
16,  1907,  Mr.  Taft,  then  Secretary  of  War,  likewise 
stated : 

The  policy  looks  to  the  improvement  of  the  people 
both  industrially  and  in  self-governing  capacity.  As 
this  policy  of  extending  control  continues,  it  must  log- 
ically reduce  and  finally  end  the  sovereignty  of  the 
United  States  in  the  Islands,  unless  it  shall  seem  wise  to 
the  American  and  the  Filipino  peoples,  on  account  of 
mutually  beneficial  trade  relations  and  possible  advan- 
tage to  the  Islands  in  their  foreign  relations,  that  the 
bond  shall  not  be  completely  severed. 

In  his  special  report  to  the  President  after  the 
inauguration  of  the  Assembly,  Mr.  Taft  definitely 
interpreted  President  McKinley's  Philippine  pol- 


150      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

icy  as  meaning  ultimate  independence.     He  said, 
in  part : 

It  necessarily  involves  in  its  ultimate  conclusion,  as 
the  steps  toward  self-government  become  greater  and 
greater,  the  ultimate  independence  of  the  Islands;  al- 
though, of  course,  if  both  the  United  States  and  the 
Islands  were  to  conclude  after  complete  self-government 
were  possible  that  it  would  be  mutually  beneficial  to  con- 
tinue a  governmental  relation  between  them  like  that 
between  England  and  Australia,  there  would  be  nothing 
inconsistent  with  the  present  policy  in  such  a  result. 

All  these,  indeed,  were  fine  promises;  but  they 
have  never  been  authoritatively  stated  by  Congress, 
which  is  the  only  agency  that  could  pledge  the 
American  people  to  that  legislative  program.  For 
a  people  like  the  Filipinos,  who  have  had  to  experi- 
ence so  many  bitter  disappointments  and  disillu- 
sionments,  declarations  from  executive  officers 
alone  would  not  be  sufficient  to  allay  their  fears  as 
to  their  future.  Those  who  were  loudest  in  preach- 
ing the  doctrine  of  ultimate  independence  were  also 
most  careful  not  to  allow  Congress  to  declare  such 
an  intention.  Mr.  Taft  was  the  first  to  oppose  the 
suggestion  that  Congress  itself  express  the  very 
feelings  and  purpose  which  time  and  again  he  had 
himself  seen  fit  to  utter.  He  then  said  that  for 
Congress  to  promise  independence  in  the  future 
would  mean  endless  and  harmful  political  agita- 


THE  CASE 
FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 


'"^rKM^^-^-^^'T^^  ^^^ 


PUBLICITY  CAMPAIGN  151 

tion  in  the  Islands,  since  the  Filipinos  would  at 
once  insist  that  they  were  now  ready  for  independ- 
ence and  demand  that  therefore  it  be  granted  them 
—  as  if  there  could  be  a  more  active  agitation  than 
that  which  has  been  going  on  for  more  than  a  dec- 
ade and  that  will  go  on  for  another  hundred  years 
until  a  final  policy  of  independence  shall  be  pro- 
claimed and  acted  upon  by  the  American  Govern- 
ment! The  simple  truth  is  that  the  majority,  if 
not  all,  of  those  who  proclaimed  the  benevolent  in- 
tentions of  the  American  people  but  who  would 
not  have  Congress,  the  only  authoritative  source, 
express  them,  had  really  set  their  hearts  on  indefi- 
nite —  which  is  equivalent  to  saying  permanent  — 
retention.  They  would  not  publicly  state  such 
views  since  they  knew  that  the  American  people 
were  not  for  it.  In  the  meanwhile  they  had  been 
doing  their  best  to  feed  the  American  pride  with 
glowing  reports  of  the  beneficent  results  of  their 
mission  in  the  Philippines.  They  knew  that  herein 
lay  their  only  strength.  The  policy  of  indefinite- 
ness,  of  drifting  without  knowing  where,  could  be 
maintained  only  by  convincing  the  American  peo- 
ple that  the  enterprise  in  the  Philippines  was  bring- 
ing unprecedented  results  in  the  way  of  uplifting 
a  people,  but  that  at  the  same  time  the  end  of  that 
mission  was  yet  a  long,  long  way  off. 
American  governors  of  the  Philippines,  from  Mr. 


152      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

Taft  down  to  Mr,  Forbes,  saw  to  it  that  the  Amer- 
^  ican  press  was  constantly  supplied  with  reports  of 
!  their  work  in  the  Islands.  They  were  aided  in  this 
work  of  publicity  by  the  War  Department.  As  the 
l'  American  people  read  these  reports,  they  were  nat- 
'/  urally  filled  with  pride  over  such  a  noble  work. 
;  They  beheld  a  people  alleged  to  be  semi-barbarous 
drawn  out  from  the  deep  recesses  of  tropical  jun- 
gles into  the  sunlight  of  civilization ;  they  saw  good 
roads  built  where  there  had  been,  according  to  re* 
port,  nothing  but  the  trails  of  the  head-hunters; 
costly  hospitals  erected  where  there  had  been  dis- 
ease-breeding huts;  they  pictured  splendid  school- 
houses  towering  over  vast  wildernesses,  children 
recruited,  pestilence  stopped,  commerce  enhanced. 
In  every  phase  of  this  development  they  saw  the 
ingenious  hand  of  the  pioneer  American,  So  con- 
vinced were  the  American  people  of  the  utility  of 
the  great  work  said  to  be  in  progress  in  the  Philip- 
pines that  they  elevated  to  the  chief  executive  post 
of  the  nation  the  man  whose  greatest  claim  to  that 
high  oflBce  was  his  record  as  governor  of  the  Philip- 
pineS;  William  H.  Taft.  They  naturally  looked 
upon  him  as  the  final  arbiter  of  things  Philippine. 
To  them  it  was  he  who  had  brought  order  out  of 
chaos,  tamed  the  "  misguided "  Filipinos,  made 
them  lay  down  their  arms,  and  taught  them  the 
blessings  of  peace,  liberty,  and  progress.    The  other 


PUBLICITY  CAMPAIGN  153 

governors  and  officials  were  likewise  royally  re- 
ceived by  their  countrymen,  who  seemed  to  see 
around  their  brows  the  wreath  due  to  a  Lord  Cro- 
mer. The  Filipinos  were,  it  was  said,  satisfied 
with  the  American  government  in  the  Philippines ; 
the  cry  of  independence  was  raised  only  by  a  few 
self-seeking  demagogues. 

For  more  than  a  decade  these  officials  and  ex- 
officials  have  controlled  American  public  opinion 
on  the  Philippine  question.  Their  central  theme 
has  been  the  incapacity  of  the  Filipinos  to  carry  on 
any  decent  form  of  government.  They  have  belit- 
tled, if  not  completely  ignored,  the  part  taken  by 
the  Filipinos  in  bringing  about  what  was  beneficial 
in  the  results  of  their  experiments.  No  mention 
whatever  has  been  made  of  the  splendid  materials 
for  their  experiment  —  the  inherent  capacity  of  the 
Filipinos  to  advance,  their  thirst  for  knowledge, 
the  money  they  pay  for  all  the  boasted  improve- 
ments—  without  which  no  success  would  be  pos- 
sible in  the  Islands.  Little  has  ever  been  said  of 
the  Christian  culture  and  civilization  which  the 
islanders  had  gained  after  centuries  of  contact  with 
Europe  through  the  medium  of  Spain. 

The  average  American  reader  has  taken  the 
statements  of  these  publicity  agents  at  face  value, 
and  as  a  result  the  American  people  as  a  whole  suf- 
fer from  a  most  deplorable  lack  of  knowledge  of 


154     THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

the  characteristics  and  capabilities  of  the  Filipino 
people.  They  have  been  led  to  think  that  these 
islanders  are  entirely  unfit  for  any  form  of  self- 
government  because  American  ex-oflScials,  who,  to 
their  mind,  should  be  most  conversant  with  Philip- 
pine conditions,  have  said  so.  The  fact  is  that 
these  American  officials  must  of  necessity,  con- 
sciously or  unconsciously,  accept  the  theory  of  Fili- 
pino incapacity.  Before  leaving  America,  they 
had  their  minds  already  prepared  to  see  and  deal 
with  an  incapable  people.  They  had  been  ap- 
pointed to  uphold  the  Republican  policy  of  indefi- 
nite retention,  which  necessarily  presupposes  na- 
tive incapacity.  They  started,  therefore,  already 
with  symptoms  of  mental  myopia  in  that  direction. 
They  were,  in  a  sense,  hired  lawyers  with  instruc- 
tions to  find  evidence  for  one  side  only.  They  were 
not  free  to  choose  which  side  they  should  favor, 
whether  that  of  Filipino  capacity  or  Filipino  inca- 
pacity ;  the  very  fact  that  they  accepted  their  posi- 
tions indicated  that  they  must  be  against  the  idea 
of  Filipino  capacity,  because  the  only  excuse  for 
the  Government  they  were  serving  was  the  inca- 
pacity of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Philippines. 

Once  in  the  Philippines,  the  American  official 
felt  himself  a  thousand  times  more  important  than 
he  really  was ;  here  he  had  a  mission  to  perform :  he 
was  to  teach  the  Filipinos  to  do  this  and  that.     He 


PUBLICITY  CAMPAIGN  155 

saw  the  mechanism  of  that  government  arranged 
so  that  the  departments  were  controlled  by  Amer- 
icans. It  is  true  that  there  was  a  Philippine  As- 
sembly, but  at  the  most  it  was  but  a  negative  ele- 
ment. It  had  nothing  to  do  with  appointments, 
and  it  had  no  control  over  the  so-called  non-Chris- 
tian lands  which  comprised  more  than  one  third 
of  the  whole  archipelago.  It  was  established  only 
in  1907  when  the  whole  machinery  of  the  govern- 
ment was  already  in  running  order  —  the  extrava- 
gant salaries  established  and  other  elements  defi- 
nitely fixed.  If  it  wanted  to  reduce  the  appropri- 
ations, the  Commission,  composed  of  a  majority  of 
Americans,  would  oppose,  there  would  be  a  dead- 
lock, and  the  appropriations  of  the  previous  year 
would  be  continued.  Ever  since  this  Assembly 
was  established,  there  has  always  been  a  conflict 
between  it  and  the  Commission  —  which  is  equiva- 
lent to  saying  between  Americans  and  Filipinos  — 
as  to  the  Filipinization  of  the  service.  The  ques- 
tion of  Filipino  capacity  was  the  keynote  of  all 
these  conflicts.  The  American  official  would  nat- 
urally cling  to  the  Commission.  How  could  he  be 
expected  to  do  otherwise?  On  that  side,  as  an 
American  writer  puts  it,  was  his  bread  being  but- 
tered. Should  he  favor  a  lessening  in  the  number 
of  places  for  Americans?  Should  he  thus  admit 
Filipino  capacity?    How  could  he  then  justify  his 


156      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

stay  in  the  Islands,  how  could  he  glorify  and  laud 
American  experiments  if  he  were  to  start  with  the 
major  premise  that  the  Filipinos  were  capable  of 
self-government?  His  usefulness  would  then  be 
gone  as  a  factor  in  government,  and  he  would  be  a 
supernumerary. 

In  order  that  I  may  not  be  deemed  unfair  in  de- 
lineating this  mental  attitude  of  the  American  offi- 
cial in  the  Islands  during  the  Republican  regime, 
and  his  foregone  conversion  to  belief  in  the  inca- 
pacity of  the  Filipino  people,  I  shall  quote  the  con- 
fession of  an  ex-official  himself,  a  former  member 
of  the  Philippine  Commission,  the  Hon.  W.  Mor- 
gan Shuster.  He  wrote  in  the  "  Century  Maga- 
zine "  for  January,  1914 : 

The  records  of  our  congressional  committee  and  of 
the  war  department  are  filled  with  reports,  speeches, 
letters,  testimony,  and  statistics  going  to  show  what  the 
party  then  in  power  wanted  the  American  people  to 
thiak  about  the  Filipinos.  If  any  one  thought  differ- 
ently, he  became  at  once,  in  official  eyes,  a  dreamer,  an 
anti-imperialist,  or  a  demagogue.  His  opinions  were 
taboo  in  high  governmental  circles,  and  he  was  deemed 
an  unsafe  man  to  hold  important  office.  This  was  only 
natural,  and  I  recall  it  merely  to  show  how  the  opinion 
of  the  American  people  on  the  question  has  really  been 
formed.  The  opinion  of  the  ordinary  American  citizen 
as  to  the  Filipinos  is  largely  influenced  by  the  statements 
or  the  pronouncements  of  the  very  few  men  in  public  life 


PUBLICITY  CAMPAIGN  157 

who  have  had,  or  were  thought  to  have  had,  exceptional 
facilities  for  knowing  the  real  facts  and  situation.  Thus 
the  views  of  Ex-Presidents  Roosevelt  and  Taft,  of  Ex- 
Secretary  of  War  Root,  of  Senator  Lodge,  of  the  dif- 
ferent Philippine  governors  and  members  of  the  Philip- 
pine Commission,  of  the  commanding  generals  who  have 
served  in  the  Islands  have  been  the  real  source  of 
"  American  public  opinion."  As  a  matter  of  fact,  it 
is  doubtful  whether  the  views  of  any  of  these  gentle- 
men were  reached  in  a  strictly  impartial  and  judicial 
manner.  With  the  possible  exception  of  Mr.  Taft,  they 
took  up  the  subject,  as  I  did,  with  a  previously  formed 
conviction  that  the  facts  were  going  to  sustain  the  ac- 
cepted government  belief  and  policy,  which  were  that 
the  Filipinos  were  not  fit  to  be,  and  should  not  of  right 
be,  independent,  at  least  for  a  very  long  time  to  come. 
How  long,  few  ventured  to  predict.  It  is  said  that  Mr. 
Taft,  when  invited  by  President  McKinley  to  go  to  Ma- 
nila as  head  of  the  Civil  Commission,  stated  that  he  was 
opposed  to  our  holding  the  Islands.  That,  however, 
was  before  he  had  been  intimately  connected  with  ad- 
ministrative policies  already  adopted,  which  were  based 
on  the  opposite  belief. 

But  there  is  another  reason  why  all  these  docu- 
ments, reports,  speeches,  and  articles  contributed 
by  the  retentionists  are  of  questionable  value.  Be- 
fore the  policy  of  holding  the  Islands  was  ever  pro- 
claimed in  Washington,  and  at  a  time  when  Amer- 
ican representatives  in  the  Philippines  did  not 
know  what  the  real  policy  was  to  be,  the  utterances 


158      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

of  these  Americans  were  completely  at  variance 
with  the  opinions  of  those  who  followed  them  after 
the  decision  to  keep  the  Archipelago  was  reached. 
The  Filipinos  had  not  then  had  the  advantage  of 
political  training  under  American  domination,  and 
yet  they  were  deemed  by  the  American  officials  who 
saw  them  at  the  time  to  be  capable  of  and  fit  for 
self-government.  Thus  Admiral  Dewey,  on  June 
27,  1898,  cabled  to  Washington  that  in  his  opinion 
"  these  people  are  far  superior  in  their  intelligence 
and  more  capable  of  self-government  than  the  na- 
tives of  Cuba."  He  then  added  that  he  was  "fa- 
miliar with  both  races."  General  Merritt,  on  his 
arrival  in  Paris,  in  October,  1898,  was  reported  as 
saying  the  same  thing.  At  about  the  same  time. 
Admiral  Dewey  sent  Leonard  Sargent,  a  naval  ca- 
det, and  W.  B.  Wilcox,  paymaster  of  the  navy,  to 
investigate  conditions  in  Northern  Luxon.  They 
traveled  for  600  miles  and  visited  seven  prov- 
inces —  a  "  characteristic  and  important  district," 
Mr.  Sargent  said.  The  travelers  reported  that 
there  was  order  in  the  places  visited,  that  the  mu- 
nicipalities were  ably  performing  the  functions  of 
government,  and  that  they  were  greeted  by  the 
town  authorities  with  great  decorum.  "As  a 
tribute  to  the  efficiency  of  Aguinaldo's  govern- 
ment," said  Mr.  Sargent,  "  and  to  the  law-abiding 
character  of  his  subjects,  I  offer  the  fact  that  Mr. 


PUBLICITY  CAMPAIGN  159 

Wilcox  and  I  pursued  our  journey  throughout  in 
perfect  security,  and  returned  to  Manila  with  only 
the  most  pleasing  recollections  of  the  quiet  and  or- 
derly life  which  we  found  the  natives  to  be  leading 
under  the  new  regime."  Hon.  John  Barrett,  at 
the  time  United  States  minister  to  Siam  and  now 
director-general  of  the  Pan-American  Union,  saw 
the  Philippine  Congress  then  working  and  re- 
marked that  it  compared  favorably  with  the  Japa- 
nese Parliament.  "  The  executive  operation  of  the 
Government,"  said  Mr.  Barrett,  "  was  made  up  of 
a  ministry  of  bright  men  who  seemed  to  under- 
stand their  respective  positions,  while  among  Agui- 
naldo's  advisers  were  men  of  acknowledged  ability 
as  international  lawyers." 

Had  all  the  publicity  work  carried  on  by  the 
retentionists  been,  if  not  entirely  unbiased,  at 
least,  a  dignified  and  dispassionate  presentation 
of  their  side  of  the  question,  the  Filipinos  would 
doubtless  have  tolerated  it.  But  such,  unfortu- 
nately, is  not  the  case.  Many  of  these  publicity 
agents  have  gone  to  the  extreme  of  deliberately 
misrepresenting  conditions  in  the  Philippines, 
slandering  the  entire  Filipino  people,  and  pictur- 
ing them  as  a  mere  conglomeration  of  contemptible 
savage  tribes  separated  from  one  another  by  age- 
long jealousies  and  hatred.  They  sent  Igorrotes  to 
the  St.  Louis  Exposition  who  created  in  the  minds 


160      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

of  hundreds  of  thousands  of  Americans  the  indeli- 
ble impression  that  the  Filipinos  have  not  yet 
emerged  from  savagery.  There  was  hardly  a 
magazine  in  the  Union  which  did  not  embellish  its 
pages  with  photographs  of  "  head-hunters,"  di- 
rectly or  indirectly  conveying  to  the  lay  mind  that 
they  were  typical  Filipinos.  There  was  hardly  a 
newspaper  that  did  not  open  its  columns  to  bi- 
zarre stories  of  the  wonderful  transformation  of 
these  savage  Filipinos  that  was  being  wrought. 
American  audiences  have  been  regaled  with  the 
same  stories,  supplemented  by  pictures  and  told 
with  more  vividness,  even  with  the  glamour  of  ro- 
mance, because  the  lecturer  himself  had  been  on 
the  scene  of  action  and  had  participated  in  the 
great  enterprise! 

And  the  men  most  responsible  for  this  kind  of 
campaign  have  received  princely  salaries  from  the 
pockets  of  the  Filipino  people!  Once  on  vacation 
trips  in  America,  or  after  they  have  left  the  Phil- 
ippine service  for  better  places,  having  thus  used 
the  Islands  as  a  stepping  stone,  they  have  habit- 
ually continued  their  propaganda.  It  is  one  of 
their  customs  to  make  gratuitous  prophecies  —  for 
they  cannot  be  anything  but  mere  prophecies  —  of 
the  terrible  calamity  that  would  befall  the  Filipi- 
nos should  they  be  granted  their  national  desire 
and  be  allowed  to  rule  themselves.     "  Cut  loose 


PUBLICITY  CAMPAIGN  161 

from  foreign  political  influences,"  prophesied  Prof. 
Bernard  Moses,  an  ex-Philippine  commissioner, 
"  the  Filipino  would  run  a  very  serious  risk  of 
lapsing  into  a  state  of  social  confusion  relieved 
only  by  tribal  rule  J'  ^  These  men  repeatedly  pro- 
claimed to  the  world  that  the  cry  of  independence 
proceeded  only  from  the  mouths  of  a  few  hungry 
"  politicos."  "  This  group,"  says  Professor  Moses 
in  the  article  just  quoted,  "  embraces  the  least  use- 
ful members  of  the  population  as  a  whole  —  the 
agitators  who,  for  their  own  advantage,  play  upon 
the  ignorance  of  the  common  people.  .  .  .  These 
are  they  whom  certain  American  politicians  visit- 
ing the  Islands  have  flattered  and  encouraged  by 
calling  them  the  Washingtons  and  Lincolns  of  the 
Philippines."  Professor  Moses  is  rivaled,  if  not, 
indeed,  excelled,  in  his  contempt  for  Filipino  po- 
litical leaders  by  another  ex-commissioner.  Prof. 
Dean  C.  Worcester.  "What  have  we  ever  gained 
by  concessions  to  politicians?"  Mr.  Worcester 
asks.  "  Can  any  one  point  out  a  single  instance  in 
which  they  have  aroused  a  feeling  of  gratitude,  or 
even  that  sense  of  obligation  which  may  fully  jus- 
tify the  adoption  of  measures  that  would  other- 
wise be  of  doubtful  utility?  No.  .  .  .  Gratitude 
does  not  enter  into  the  make-up  of  the  average  Fili- 
pino politician,  and  we  must  learn  not  to  expect  it. 
1"  Atlantic  Monthly,"  May,  1913. 


162     THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

We  must  do  what  ought  to  be  done  because  it  ought 
to  be  done  and  not  look  for  appreciation  to  a  small 
but  very  noisy  body  of  men  who  curse  us  for  stand- 
ing between  them  and  their  prey,  as  we  stood  from 
the  day  when  Dewey  first  forbade  Aguinaldo  to 
steal  cattle  (?)  until  now."  ^  The  above  are  but 
samples  of  the  utterances  Mr.  Worcester  has  seen 
fit  to  spread  broadcast  in  America.  Unfortunately, 
the  Filipino  people  have  reciprocated  the  feeling 
of  animosity  that  this  ex-commissioner  entertains 
toward  them.  When  Mr.  Worcester  recently  re- 
turned to  Cebu  as  the  head  of  the  Visayan  Refin- 
ing Company,  he  was  met  with  the  protest  of  the 
entire  people  of  Cebu,  who  declared  that  they  did 
not  desire  further  communication  with  him,  either 
commercially  or  governmentally.  This  protest  was 
adhered  to  by  the  entire  Filipino  people  as  expressed 
through  a  united  press.  It  was  probably  the  first 
time  in  the  history  of  the  Philippines  in  which  the 
Filipinos  objected  to  receiving  a  man  as  a  resident 
of  their  country,  for  whatever  faults  they  may  have, 
they  are  certainly  not  lacking  in  hospitality.  In- 
deed, Mr.  Worcester  himself  has  spoken  very 
highly  of  this  trait  of  the  Filipinos.  Their  griev- 
ance against  Mr.  Worcester  must  therefore  be  a 
very  great  one.  They  have  resented  his  publicity 
campaign  in  America  and  his  hostile  attitude  to- 

2  Worcester,  The  Philippine  —  Past  and  Present,  p.  965. 


PUBLICITY  CAMPAIGN  163 

ward  them.  An  editorial  published  in  a  Cebu 
paper,  "El  Precursor,"  describes  faithfully  the 
campaign  Mr.  Worcester  has  carried  on  in  America 
as  viewed  by  the  Filipino  people.  The  editorial 
is  therefore  reproduced  here  in  part,  as  fol- 
lows: 

Mb.  Worcester  and  the  FUiipiNOS  Must  Part 
Forever 

The  issue  is  not  between  capital  and  the  Filipino  peo- 
ple, nor  between  the  American-Philippine  Company,  of 
which  the  Visayan  Refining  Company  is  a  branch,  and 
the  Filipino  people.  .  .  .  The  issue  is  between  Mr. 
Worcester  and  the  Filipino  people.  Mr.  Worcester's 
whole  career  in  the  Philippines  has  been  a  series  of  in- 
dignities offered  to  them. 

He  has  continuously  libeled  them  before  the  Amer- 
ican nation  as  a  mere  coterie  of  contemptible  beings  sep- 
arated from  one  another  by  warring  jealousies  and 
hatred. 

While  in  America  he  has  delivered  lectures,  exhibited 
indecent  pictures  of  savages,  exploiting,  by  innuendos,  if 
not  in  so  many  words,  the  American  prevailing  con- 
ception that  the  Philippines  are  largely  peopled  by  sav- 
ages who  must  be  led  into  the  paths  of  civilization  by 
the  American  administration. 

On  page  973,  Volume  II  of  his  book  The  Philippines 
—  Past  and  Present  appears  a  full-page  picture  of  a 
half -naked  Igorrote  warrior,  with  all  the  paraphernalia 
of  savagery  (beads,  anklets,  bracelets,  spear,  etc.),  while 
beside  him  lay  the  head  of  the  enemy  he  has  just  cut 


< 


164      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

off.  Who  is  this  man?  Listen  to  the  legend  below  the 
picture:  "  The  man  with  the  lance  could  be  elected 
senator  for  the  Mountain  Province  were  the  Jones  Bill 
to  be  enacted.  He  has  the  qualifications  therein  pre- 
scribed as  necessary  to  eligibility  for  this  high  office." 
No  spirit  save  that  of  blind,  libelous  animosity  toward 
the  Filipinos  could  have  intimated  that  a  Philippine 
electorate  would  be  capable  of  sending  to  their  senate 
chamber  a  naked  Igorrote  whose  greatest  pride  is  his 
having  cut  off  the  head  of  his  fellow  man!  And  this 
picture  was  widely  reproduced  in  the  press  of  America 
with  the  sensational  head  line  of  **  A  Possible  Filipino 
Senator."  It  is  a  conservative  estimate  that  at  least 
half  a  million  Americans  have  noticed  this  picture  and 
that  90  per  cent,  of  this  number,  not  knowing  anything 
about  the  Philippines,  have  retained  the  impression  of 
how  our  future  Philippine  Senate  would  look.  (See 
New  York  "  American  "  of  March  1,  1914.) 

On  page  14,  January  number,  1914,  of  "  The  Filipino 
People  "  is  reproduced  the  photograph  of  the  announce- 
ment of  one  of  Mr.  Worcester's  lectures.  On  top  of  the 
card  is  the  title  of  the  lecture  *'  The  Philippines,"  while 
below  it  is  a  group  of  naked  specimens  of  savagery,  cre- 
ating the  impression  that  the  main  things  worth  seeing 
in  the  Philippines  are  the  savages. 

Mr.  Worcester  has  filled  one  entire  number  of  the 
voluminous  "  National  Geographic  Magazine  "  (Sep- 
tember, 1912)  with  nothing  but  pictures  of  savages  in- 
habiting * '  Northern  Luzon, ' '  indirectly  conveying  to  the 
casual  and  careless  reader  that  they  are  the  typical  in- 
habitants of  Luzon.  Of  course,  Mr.  Worcester,  being, 
as  Justice  Tracey  puts  it,  a  "  seasoned  controversialist  ' ' 


PUBLICITY  CAMPAIGN  165 

took  pains  to  say  in  a  few  lines  that  these  savages  do 
not  constitute  the  majority  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
Philippines;  but  Mr.  Worcester  knows  full  well  that 
90  per  cent,  of  the  American  readers  would  not  stop  to 
read  these  lines  but  would  be  content  with  reading  the 
legends  below  the  pictures,  all  of  which  are  likenesses  of 
savage  men.  It  should  be  further  noticed  that  these  il- 
lustrations were  published  at  a  time  when  the  American 
people  were  weighing  the  capabilities  and  characteristics 
of  the  Filipino  people.  It  is  so  often  seen  that  by  innu- 
endos  you  can  calumniate  an  entire  people ! 

Mr.  Worcester  has  recently  carried  on  in  America  an 
insidious  Philippine  slavery  campaign,  not  for  any  de- 
sire to  correct  any  social  evil,  but  to  defeat  the  Philip- 
pine legislation  which  was  then  being  agitated  in  Con- 
gress. This  campaign  created  in  the  American  mind  the 
idea  that  in  the  Philippines  existed  a  recognized  insti- 
tution of  slavery,  likening  it  to  the  situation  which  pre- 
vailed in  the  United  States  before  the  great  Civil  War. 

Throughout  the  time  when  Mr.  Worcester  was  a  Phil- 
ippine commissioner,  receiving  from  the  pockets  of  the 
Filipino  people  a  salary  greater  than  that  of  an  Amer- 
ican cabinet  member,  he  showed  unmistakable  hatred 
toward  the  Filipinos.  Not  content  with  that,  he  taught 
his  "  pets,"  the  savage  tribes,  to  hate  their  Chris- 
tian brothers,  their  ' '  ancestral  enemies. ' '  He  * '  laughed 
at  the  idea  that  the  Islands  belonged  to  the  so-called 
civilized  people  and  held  that  if  the  Archipelago  be- 
longed to  any  one  it  certainly  belonged  to  its  original 
owners,  the  Negritos."  ("  Cablenews  "  of  October  11, 
1910,  reporting  his  Y.  M.  C.  A.  speech.) 

To  Mr.  Worcester  our  claims  about  the  united  Filipino 


166     THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

people  are  mere  "  idle  vaporings  "  (page  937,  Philip- 
pines—  Past  and  Present).  "We  **  consider  bandits  as 
popular  heroes"  (page  970,  Philippines  —  Past  and 
Present).  We  are  led  to-day  by  "  leaders  who  have  re- 
cently committed  almost  incredible  barbarities.  ..." 

To  him  our  Philippine  Assembly  —  that  body  which 
has  commanded  the  respect  and  admiration  of  each  and 
every  other  American  who  has  been  here,  be  he  Repub- 
lican or  Democrat  —  is  a  joke.  It  came  **  at  least  ten 
years  too  soon,"  he  said.  **  Its  creation  in  1907  has 
resulted  in  imposing  a  heavy  financial  burden  on  the 
country  for  which  there  has  been  no  adequate  compen- 
sating return  "  (page  772,  Philippines  —  Past  and  Pres- 
ent). It  has  **  passed  bills  which,  if  approved  by  the 
Upper  House,  would  have  brought  the  administration  of 
justice  within  the  domain  of  politics,  emptied  the  insu- 
lar treasury,  paralyzed  health  work,  and  gravely  men- 
aced public  order."  (From  Mr.  Worcester's  article  in 
"  The  Independent,"  February  23, 1914.) 

The  Filipino  people  must,  indeed,  be  blind  not  to 
have  noticed  this  over-cordial  hatred  of  Mr.  Worcester 
towards  them,  for  to  his  own  countrymen  his  feelings 
have  also  become  apparent. 

Judge  James  H.  Blount  considers  him  "  the  direst 
calamity  that  has  befallen  the  Filipinos  since  the  Amer- 
ican occupation,  neither  war,  pestilence,  famine,  recon- 
centration,  nor  tariff,  wrought  poverty  excepted  " 
(page  571,  American  Occupation  of  the  Philippines). 
The  New  York  **  Evening  Post"  (April  4,  1914),  a 
non-partizan  newspaper,  has  this  to  say  of  Mr.  Worces- 
ter's book: 

*  *  Mr,  Worcester  devotes  more  than  one  hundred  pages 


PUBLICITY  CAMPAIGN  167 

of  his  book  to  proving  that  nobody  connected  with  our 
Government  ever  held  out  false  hopes  to  Aguinaldo. 
What  he  proves  for  iis  is  merely  his  hatred  of  every 
Filipino  who  desires  to  see  the  independence  of  his  coun- 
try. All  such  persons  he  denounces  as  *  politicos  ' — 
meaning  demagogues.  The  present  work  breathes  a 
spirit  of  animosity  not  often  equaled  in  a  work  intended 
to  he  a  permanent  cojitribution  to  the  annals  of  men's 
struggles  for  free  institutions.** 

So  we  believe,  nay,  we  are  convinced,  that  for  the 
harmony  of  Filipinos  and  Americans,  both  in  commer- 
cial as  well  as  governmental  fields,  we  must  say  adieu 
to  Mr.  Dean  C.  Worcester.  He  cannot  add  to  the  solu- 
tion of  this,  America's  greatest  problem  in  the  Orient. 
As  head  of  the  Visayan  Refining  Company  he  will  nec- 
essarily deal  with  the  whole  people  of  the  Visayas,  and 
any  relation  between  him  and  a  portion  of  the  civilized 
Filipinos  is  hardly  possible.  If  he  so  loves  the  Philip- 
pines that  he  cannot  live  away  from  it,  let  him  live 
the  secluded  life  of  a  scientist  or  an  anthropologist.  "We 
will  not  object  to  Mr.  Worcester  the  anthropologist. 
We  will  give  him  as  many  skulls  to  measure  and  as  many 
tribes  to  classify,  but  we  shall  request  him  not  to  use 
his  scientific  investigations  to  calumniate,  directly  or  by 
innuendos,  an  entire  people.  Because  we,  too,  love  sci- 
ence, we  shall  not  try  to  eclipse  any  halo  he  may  be  able 
to  girdle  around  his  head  as  an  anthropologist  of  world- 
wide renown. 

The  American  reader  may  be  surprised  that  the 
feelings  of  the  Filipino  people  have  been  excited  to 
such  a  pitch  against  the  merciless  campaign  that 


168      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

has  been  carried  on  to  baffle  their  national  aspira- 
tion; but  he  can  place  himself  in  the  position  of 
the  Filipino  people  by  imagining  his  nation,  dur- 
ing her  struggle  against  King  George  III,  repre- 
sented before  the  English  people  as  being  composed 
mainly  of  Indian  savages  having  no  notion  of  any 
form  of  national  government.  A  similar  impres- 
sion is  exactly  what  many  opponents  of  independ- 
ence to-day  proposed  to  create  in  the  American 
mind.  In  order  that  the  Filipinos  may  not  be  ac- 
cused of  being  more  sensitive  about  these  repre- 
sentations, or  misrepresentations,  of  Philippine 
conditions  than  they  should  be,  I  shall  quote  what 
an  American,  Dr.  John  R.  McDill,  has  had  to  say 
about  this  propaganda.  Dr.  McDill  was  for  thir- 
teen years  in  the  Philippines,  first  as  an  army  man 
and  later  as  professor  in  the  University  of  the  Phil- 
ippines. On  April  9,  1913,  he  addressed  the  Mil- 
waukee Press  Club,  in  part,  as  follows : 

The  census  of  1903  shows  the  population  of  the  Islands 
to  consist  of  7,600,000  people.  Of  these,  7,000,000  are 
Christians  and  600,000  are  non-Christians.  Of  these 
non-Christians  half  are  Moros  or  Mohammedans,  living 
in  Mindanao  and  the  Jolo  Group,  and  the  other  half 
are  uncivilized  people  of  the  mountains,  in  tribes,  liv- 
ing in  widely  separated  districts.  These  600,000  peo- 
ple are  really  a  negligible  quantity  in  the  general  po- 
litical equation,  but,  unfortunately,  these  are  the  people 


PUBLICITY  CAMPAIGN  16S 

who,  for  political  reasons,  have  heen  the  most  widely  ad- 
vertised feature  of  the  Philippine  Islands. 

Their  repulsive  pictures  and  habits  have  been  per- 
sistently and  officially  portrayed  in  the  leading  maga- 
zines of  this  country  and  by  lecturers  until  the  majority 
of  Americans  regard  them  as  typical  of  the  Filipino  peo- 
ple. The  lecturer  in  vogue  just  now  in  America  flashes 
on  the  screen  a  life-size  rear  view  of  a  geestring-clad 
Bontok  Igorrote  at  the  bat  to  show  how  the  Filipinos 
have  taken  to  baseball.  The  picture  furnished  to  the  dig- 
nified Women's  Club  of  Milwaukee  last  week  their  most 
vivid  memory  of  a  lecture  on  the  Philippines.  Con- 
trasted with  this  are  pictures  depicting  the  wonderful 
possibilities  of  the  Islands  in  hemp,  copra,  sugar,  and 
tobacco  cultivation,  with  suggestions  as  to  what  has  been 
and  can  be  done  under  American  management.  The  en- 
tire issue  of  last  September's  "  National  Geographic 
Magazine  "  was  devoted  to  the  Head  Hunters  of  North- 
em  Luzon,  and  evidently  has  made  a  great  impression 
all  over  the  country.  This  article  of  a  hundred  pages, 
and  one  hundred  and  six  wonderful  illustrations,  por- 
traying the  most  horrible  habits  possible  to  human  kind, 
was  written  by  a  prominent  government  official,  an 
American  member  of  the  Philippine  Upper  House,  the 
man  mentioned  in  Judge  Blount's  recent  book  as  the 
**  official  digger-up  of  non-Christian  tribes  "  and  as 
**  the  direst  calamity  that  has  befallen  the  Filipinos 
since  the  American  occupation."  This  writer's  official 
reputation  for  honesty  is  protected  in  the  inconspicuous 
closing  sentence,  which  states  that  **  the  sometimes 
highly  objectionable  customs  which  have  prevailed  or 
still  prevail  among  the  million  non-Christian  inhabitants 


170     THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

must  not  be  credited  to  the  Filipinos,  the  civilized  and 
Christianized  inhabitants  of  the  Philippines,  of  whom 
there  are  some  7,000,000."  But  this  obscure  note  fails 
to  remove  the  false  impression  conveyed.  The  expense 
of  the  collection  of  this  and  similar  damaging  propa- 
ganda is  paid  for  out  of  the  pockets  of  the  helpless 
Filipino  people. 

An  exuberant  magazine  article  of  last  year,  referring 
to  Brigadier-General  Clarence  R.  Edwards'  achieve- 
ment in  Philippine  affairs,  spoke  of  *'  the  strides  we 
have  made  in  the  development  of  the  8,000,000  naked 
savages,  gory  head-hunters,  grinning  Moros  and  what 
not  that  Dewey  pulled  out  of  the  wet  under  our  star- 
spangled  umbrella."  This  is  the  sort  of  popular  trash 
with  which  Americans  are  blinded  to  the  importance  of 
this  great  national  problem.  The  Filipino  people  are  not 
the  collection  of  ethnological  curiosities  they  have  been 
represented  to  the  popular  mind.  This  is  a  great 
calumny. 

It  may  be  inferred  from  the  above  that  the 
"  lecturer  in  vogue  "  referred  to  by  Dr.  McDill  is 
the  same  person  that  has  been  the  object  of  the  re- 
cent nation-wide  protest  in  the  Philippines  —  Ex- 
Commissioner  Dean  C.  Worcester.  He  is  consid- 
ered to-day  by  many  Americans  as  perhaps  the 
greatest  authority  on  the  Philippines !  He  is  gen- 
erally introduced  at  all  lectures  as  the  only  Amer- 
ican with  eighteen  years  of  experience  in  the  Is- 
lands, and  therefore  the  man  who  should  best  know 
the  Filipino  people, —  as  if  time,  no  matter  how 


PUBLICITY  CAMPAIGN  171 

long,  spent  in  cultivating  a  spirit  of  deep-seated 
animosity  could  ever  be  a  reliable  aid  to  the  knowl- 
edge of  a  people!  Human  sympathy,  regard  for 
the  feelings  of  others,  respect  for  their  customs 
and  idiosyncrasies,  appreciation  for  their  ideals 
and  aspirations  —  these  alone  could  open  to  the 
stranger  a  people's  life,  help  him  to  hear 
their  heart-throbbings,  discover  their  innermost 
thoughts,  learn  their  mental  processes,  pierce  into 
their  soul.  Through  these  alone  could  he  really 
know  a  people ! 

What  circumstances  could  it  be  that  permitted 
the  campaign  of  Mr.  Worcester  to  exert  an  influ- 
ence on  the  American  people,  representing  as  it 
did  all  that  was  humiliating  and  hateful  to  the 
Filipinos?  What  special  conditions  have  con- 
spired to  allow  him  to  figure  in  the  discussion  of 
the  Philippine  question  in  America?  Mr.  Worces- 
ter's Philippine  career  and  campaign  in  the  United 
States,  like  all  the  grievances  of  subject  peoples, 
are  but  the  natural  sequence  of  an  ill-advised  pol- 
icy. It  is  now  the  common  verdict  of  history  that 
Warren  Hastings  was  not  so  much  to  blame  for  his 
atrocities  in  India  as  England  herself,  or  rather 
her  imperial  policy,  which  tolerated  and  even  en- 
couraged inhuman  practices.  What  must  be  the 
natural  outcome  of  an  American  policy  which  lays 
aside  all  the  claims  of  a  people  for  self-government 


172     THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

and  independence,  rules  them  without  their  con- 
sent on  the  plea  that  they  are  an  incapable  people 
and  that  they  must  be  governed  for  their  own  good? 
What  must  be  the  necessary  instrument  in  order 
that  such  a  policy  may  be  accepted  by  the  American 
nation  whose  revered  and  traditional  political  doc- 
trine is  to  respect  the  right  of  self-government  of 
all  peoples,  in  all  climes,  everywhere?  The  sup- 
porters of  that  policy,  in  order  to  justify  it  and  to 
carry  it  out  with  the  approval  of  the  American 
nation,  must  necessarily  subject  that  people  to  the 
humiliation  of  being  calumniated  and  described  as 
a  mere  conglomeration  of  warring  tribes  or  a  co- 
terie of  naked  savages,  incapable  of  any  form  of  na- 
tional self-government.  Such  partizan  advocates 
will  necessarily  paint  that  people  in  the  color  that 
will  best  suit  their  purposes.  They  will  not  stop 
at  anything  that  might  reconcile  the  American  na- 
tion to  their  policy.  Hence  this  insidious  cam- 
paign that  has  been  carried  on  for  sixteen  years, 
culminating  in  the  charges  of  Mr.  Worcester  —  a 
campaign  that  has  humiliated  the  Filipino  people, 
hurt  their  national  feelings,  and,  instead  of  recon- 
ciling them  to  American  rule,  encouraged  them  to 
demand  with  more  and  more  positiveness  their  com- 
plete political  emancipation.  Through  this  cam- 
paign the  gulf  between  Americans  and  Filipinos  in 
the  Islands  has  been  made  wider  and  wider.     The 


PUBLICITY  CAMPAIGN  173 

Anglo-Saxon  assumption  of  superiority  was 
strengthened  by  the  sense  of  political  mastery  over 
a  subject  and  "  incapable  "  people  in  the  minds  of 
Americans  resident  in  the  Archipelago.  The  Fili- 
pinos realized  that  every  American  sent  there  un- 
der the  Republican  regime  would  be,  on  his  return 
to  America,  a  publicity  agent  who  would  do  his  best 
to  paint  them  in  the  blackest  colors.  Race  preju- 
dice found  a  natural  breeding  place  in  such  an  at- 
mosphere. It  was  because  of  this  unfortunate  sit- 
uation that  Monroe  WooUey,  an  American  maga- 
zine writer  who  lived  in  the  Philippines  for  many 
years,  exclaimed :  "  Our  yoke  to-day  is  far  more 
odious  to  the  native,  educated  or  uneducated,  than 
any  other  which  ever  galled  or  chafed  his  neck." 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE  VOICE  OF  THE  FILIPINO  PEOPLE 

WE  have  seen  that  the  Philippine  problem  has 
been  so  far  discussed  in  the  United  States 
by  the  American  people  alone.  The  Filipino  peo- 
ple have  not  been  allowed  to  participate,  either  di- 
rectly or  through  their  chosen  representatives,  in 
such  discussion.  It  is  true  that  they  found  warm 
friends  in  many  Americans  in  public  life  who  have 
eloquently  voiced  their  longings  for  independence; 
but  the  retentionists,  through  their  persistent  cam- 
paign, have  drowned  all  these  protests,  denying  the 
existence  not  only  of  a  Filipino  people  but  also 
of  true  national  feeling  in  the  Islands.  Indeed,  the 
difficulty  of  the  whole  Philippine  question  lies  in 
the  refusal  of  the  American  nation  to  treat  the 
Filipinos  as  a  people  possessing  inalienable  and 
inherent  rights  to  their  own  life,  their  property, 
and  the  pursuit  of  their  own  happiness.  The  repre- 
sentative of  their  Malolos  Government  was  refused 
a  hearing  by  the  American  commissioners  at  the 
Paris  Peace  Conference,  and  the  treaty  was  signed 
without  even  any  attempt  to  ascertain  what  the 

174 


VOICE  OF  THE  FILIPINO  PEOPLE      175 

Filipinos  might  say  as  to  their  own  future.  The 
same  representative  found  the  gates  of  the  Wash- 
ington Government  closed  upon  him.  Hostilities 
having  begun  against  the  desires  of  the  Filipinos, 
they  pleaded  for  a  cessation,  requiring  that  con- 
ferences be  held  by  representatives  of  both  the 
American  and  the  Filipino  peoples  to  deal  with  the 
future  political  relations  between  the  two  coun- 
tries ;  but  the  plan  was  rejected.  President  McKin- 
ley  told  the  American  nation  that  it  was  not  a  Fili- 
pino people  that  was  opposing  American  rule,  but 
only  one  of  the  eighty  tribes  inhabiting  the  Islands. 
Mr.  Koosevelt  reinforced  that  idea  by  likening  that 
struggle  to  a  war  on  a  savage  Indian  chief  —  Sit- 
ting Bull.  Unconditional  surrender  was  asked  of 
the  Filipinos  in  arms.  Sheer  exhaustion  was  the 
only  thing,  however,  that  brought  about  such  un- 
conditional surrender  and  complete  peace. 

With  the  laying  down  of  their  arms  the  Filipino 
people  continued  their  struggle  for  independence 
with  the  implements  of  peace.  The  national  spirit 
that  had  animated  them  in  the  battle-field  was  soon 
reawakened ;  and  the  political  party  that  had  advo- 
cated permanent  annexation  was  relegated  to  ob- 
livion. The  retentionists,  in  the  height  of  their 
power  and  influence,  failed  to  secure  the  signature 
of  a  single  Filipino  who  favored  their  policy  of 
indefinite  retention.     "When  a  people  has  felt  in 


176     THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

their  hearts  the  revelation  of  their  political  unity 
and  is  convinced  that  the  time  has  come  for  them 
to  assume  a  place  in  the  world's  history  " —  de- 
clared a  Filipino  statesman  ^ — "  it  is  impossible  to 
detain  them  from  their  march;  it  is  in  vain  to 
amuse  them  with  other  scenes  and  allurements,  be- 
cause they  have  their  eyes  fixed  ahead,  and,  invok- 
ing the  help  of  men  and  of  the  Almighty,  they  will 
continue  to  follow  the  dictates  of  their  inner  self, 
the  voice  of  their  destiny." 

Under  the  Organic  Act,  the  Philippine  Assembly 
elected  by  the  Filipino  people  was  allowed  to 
choose  in  1907,  and  every  four  years  thereafter,  a 
resident  commissioner  to  represent  the  Filipino 
people  in  the  United  States.^  Although  the  Fili- 
pino resident  commissioner  had  only  a  voice  and  no 
vote  in  Congress  —  and  even  his  voice  is  not  his  by 
right  but  only  a  courtesy  given  him  by  the  House  — 
the  Filipino  people  found  in  him  the  exponent  of 
their  desires  before  the  American  nation  and  Con- 

1  The  Hon.  Rafael  Palma,  member  of  the  Upper  House,  or 
Philippine  Commission,  of  the  Philippine  Government,  in  a 
speech  delivered  in  Manila,  October  16,  1912. 

2  The  Commission  was  also  allowed  to  elect  a  resident  com- 
missioner, but  as  it  was  then  composed  in  its  majority  of 
appointive  Americans,  its  representative  could  not  in  any  sense 
be  considered  a  representative  of  the  Filipino  people.  The 
present  resident  commissioner  selected  by  the  Commission, 
however,  the  Hon.  Manuel  Farnshaw,  has  disappointed  the 
Americans  who  elected  him  by  advocating  Philippine  inde- 
pendence, thus  joining  with  his  colleague,  the  Hon.  Manuel  L. 
Quezon. 


VOICE  OF  THE  FILIPINO  PEOPLE      177 

gress.  They  have  not  lost  hope  that  sooner  or  later 
their  voice  will  be  heard.  The  first  Filipino  resi- 
dent commissioner,  the  Hon.  Pablo  Ocampo,  deliv- 
ered the  first  plea  of  the  Filipino  independence 
campaign  at  the  Lake  Mohonk  Conference,  in  1908. 
But  to  his  successor,  one  of  the  present  commis-  ^ 
sioners,  Hon.  Manuel  L.  Quezon,  fell  the  honor  of  ] 
directing  the  entire  campaign  for  Philippine  inde- 
pendence in  America.  He  has  become  the  trusted 
spokesman  for  his  eight  million  countrymen,  hav- 
ing been  twice  unanimously  reelected  to  his  present 
position,  and  he  enjoys  their  full  confidence  and 
esteem.  He  has  time  and  again  appealed  to  Con- 
gress, has  made  frequent  tours  throughout  Amer- 
ica, speaking  always  for  Philippine  independence, 
and  has  clashed  many  a  time  with  the  people  and 
the  interests  that  are  opposing  the  freedom  of  his 
country.  His  position  is  perhaps  unique  in  the  his- 
tory of  colonization  —  the  position  of  a  representa- 
tive of  a  subject  people,  sitting  in  the  Congress  of 
the  metropolis,  openly  and  fearlessly  advocating 
the  complete  political  emancipation  of  his  country- 
men. Nothing  can  do  justice  to  the  message  Mr. 
Quezon  brings  from  his  eight  million  constituents 
to  the  American  people  but  his  own  speeches  and 
appeals.  It  will,  therefore,  be  necessary  to  quote 
him  rather  extensively. 

Mr.  Quezon  contends  that  independence  is  the 


178     THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

only  policy  America  could  wisely  and  justly  follow 
in  the  Philippines.    He  says : 

American  policy  regarding  the  Philippines  must  be 
based  upon  the  theory  that  the  United  States  by  its  tra- 
ditions, by  its  history  and  institutions,  and  by  the  prin- 
ciples which  constitute  the  very  foundation  of  its  national 
life,  cannot  consistently  hold  colonies  against  the  avowed 
will  of  the  inhabitants  thereof.  Therefore,  that  policy  to 
be  truly  American  must  contemplate  as  a  final  outcome 
either  statehood  or  independence. 

Statehood  for  the  Philippines  is  not  desirable,  either 
from  the  standpoint  of  the  American  or  from  that  of  the 
Filipino  people.  Differences  in  race,  customs,  interests, 
and  the  thousands  of  miles  of  water  which  separate  both 
countries,  are  insurmountable  obstacles  to  Philippine 
statehood. 

The  idea  of  assimilating  the  Filipinos  and  making 
Americans  out  of  an  Asiatic  people  should  be  recog- 
nized by  any  sane  person  as  utterly  impossible.  It 
could  be  accomplished,  if  at  all,  only  by  the  immigra- 
tion into  the  Islands  of,  at  least,  double  as  many  Amer- 
icans as  there  are  Filipinos  to-day,  so  that  in  the  course 
of  several  generations  the  original  Filipino  race  would 
have  been  absorbed  by  the  Anglo-Saxon.  Climatic  con- 
ditions prevent  this  course,  and,  owing  to  their  geograph- 
ical position,  the  Philippines  will  never  be  the  country 
of  a  white  people. 

That  a  territory  inhabited  by  a  people  who  constitute, 
by  themselves,  a  separate  and  distinct  entity,  entirely 
foreign  to  the  people  of  the  United  States,  should  become 
an  American  State,  is  too  obviously  unwise  to  merit  any 
consideration. 


VOICE  OF  THE  FILIPINO  PEOPLE     179 

On  the  other  hand,  the  idea  of  statehood  does  not 
appeal  to  the  Filipinos.  They  consider  themselves  a 
people,  distinct  from  any  other,  constituting  a  nation  of 
their  own,  and  they  cannot  link  their  destiny  with  that 
of  any  other  nation.  They  have  their  own  ideals,  cus- 
toms, habits,  traditions,  which  must  mold  their  govern- 
ment and  national  institutions,  if  these  are  to  be  satis- 
factory to  them. 

There  remains  only  the  other  solution  of  the  problem, 
which  is  independence  for  the  Philippines, 

To  defer  independence  for  the  Philippines  until  after 
several  generations  have  gone  by,  when  no  living  Amer- 
ican or  Filipino  will  see  it,  as  Mr,  Taft  and  those  who 
are  in  accord  with  him  have  suggested,  is  practically 
to  deny  the  Filipino  people  their  right  to  govern  them- 
selves. Who  can  honestly  assert  that,  because  it  is  hinted 
that  the  Filipinos  may  become  an  independent  nation 
within  three  or  four  generations,  their  control  in  the 
meantime  by  the  United  States  is  not  in  violation  of 
the  letter  and  spirit  of  the  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence? 

Independence,  to  be  a  true  American  policy,  should 
be  recognized  at  once  or  within  a  reasonable  time;  cer- 
tainly within  the  lifetime  of  those  who  are  responsible 
for  the  control  of  the  Islands  by  the  United  States. 
Such  a  course  is  the  only  course  that  will  relieve  this 
country  from  the  charge  of  having  assumed  permanent 
control  of  the  Philippines. 

To  this  exposition  American  imperialists  may  re- 
join with  the  familiar  assertion  that  the  Filipinos 
do  not  want  independence ;  that  it  is  but  the  cry  of 


180     THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

a  few  Filipino  politicians,  who,  disguised  as  patri- 
ots, desire  to  get  power  into  their  hands  in  order 
that  they  may  enslave  and  exploit  their  own  peo- 
ple ;  that  there  is  no  such  thing  as  a  Filipino  people. 
To  this  Mr.  Quezon  would  answer : 

We  all  want  independence  and  are  entitled  to  it. 
The  argument  of  Filipino  incapacity  for  self-govern- 
ment is  hypocritical.  It  is  the  veil  with  which  the 
American  office-holder  covers  his  desire  to  keep  his  place. 
It  is  the  ambush  behind  which  lurks  the  company  which 
monopolizes  our  hemp  and  the  sugar  interest,  which 
have  already  acquired,  in  defiance  of  an  Act  of  Con- 
gress, 65,000  acres  of  land  in  one  tract,  and  are  ready 
to  get  more  if  given  time  and  opportunity.  Or  at  best 
it  is  the  wish  father  to  the  thought  of  some  American 
missionaries  or  churchmen  who  mistakenly  think  that 
they  can  make  more  converts  among  the  wild  men  of 
the  Philippiaes  if  they  are  backed  by  American  soldiers. 

No  intelligent  man  who  knows  the  contemporaneous 
history  of  the  Philippine  Islands  and  has  had  an  inti- 
mate contact  with  the  people  of  the  Philippines  can  hon- 
estly say  that  the  Filipinos  do  not  constitute  a  homo- 
geneous people,  conscious  of  their  own  nationality. 
Racially  the  Filipinos  are  more  homogeneous  than  the 
people  of  the  United  States,  because  while  the  Amer- 
ican people  to-day  include  elements  coming  from  differ- 
ent parts  and  races  of  Europe,  the  Filipinos  all  belong 
to  the  same  stock  —  the  Malay  race.  In  religion  they 
are  also  more  homogeneous  than  the  people  of  the 
United  States,  for  practically  all  the  civilized  people  of 
the  Philippines,  numbering  more  than  seven  and  a  half 


VOICE  OF  THE  FILIPINO  PEOPLE      181 

millions  out  of  the  total  population  of  eight  millions, 
are  Roman  Catholics.  Belonging  to  the  same  race, 
molded  by  the  same  church  and  the  same  civilization  for 
the  past  300  years,  the  Filipinos  would  naturally  have, 
as  they  have  in  fact,  the  same  characteristics,  customs, 
habits,  and  ideas. 

That  they  constitute  a  nation,  that  they  have  com- 
mon national  aspirations  and  feelings,  is  a  fact  proven 
beyond  any  question.  The  pages  of  the  contemporary 
history  of  the  Philippines  are  illuminated  v^ith  the  most 
eloquent  proofs  of  the  unity  of  the  Filipino  people.  In 
the  struggle  for  freedom  the  sons  of  the  northern  as 
well  as  those  of  the  southern  islands  have  given  their 
lives. 

Tliere  is  not  a  region  in  the  whole  Philippine  Archi- 
pelago which  has  not  been  sprinkled  with  the  blood  of 
the  inhabitants  of  that  territory  in  the  common  strug- 
gle of  the  country  for  liberty.  At  the  call  of  the  Philip- 
pine independence  cause,  every  province  in  the  Archipel- 
ago, those  provinces  said  to  be  inhabited  by  people  of 
different  tribes,  responded,  and  headed  by  one  man, 
whose  local  origin  no  one  cared  to  inquire,  "they  re- 
volted against  Spain  and  conquered  every  garrison  and 
imprisoned  every  Spanish  soldier  outside  the  city  of  Ma- 
nila. In  defense  of  that  same  independence  which  they 
had  so  bravely  wrung  from  their  former  masters  and 
under  the  direction  of  a  government  which  they  them- 
selves had  established,  they  opposed  American  domina- 
tion in  the  Islands,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  they  knew 
but  too  well  that  their  opposition  would  be  crushed  and 
that  their  reward  for  love  of  country  would  be  death. 
The  following  extract  from  a  declaration  made  by  Ad- 


182     THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

miral  Dewey  before  the  Senate  Committee  on  the  Phil- 
ippines indicates  how  united  were  the  Filipinos  in  their 
revolution  against  Spain.  When  the  Admiral  was  asked 
how  large  was  the  Philippine  army  which  revolted 
against  Spain,  he  said  it  numbered  about  25,000,  and 
added : 

"  They  could  have  had  any  number  of  men;  it  was 
just  a  question  of  arming  them.  They  could  have  had 
the  whole  population." 

The  trouble  with  many  right-minded  Americans  is 
that  they  refuse  to  take  notice  of  what  we  Filipinos 
say.  Because  they  have  lived  in  the  Islands  for  a  short 
or  long  period  of  time,  they  feel  that  they  know  all 
about  the  Filipinos  when  they  really  don't  know  any- 
thing or  know  very  little  about  them.  And  if  they 
would  ask  themselves  how  they  have  acquired  their  al- 
leged knowledge  of  the  islanders  they  will  find  that  theirs 
is  but  second-hand  information,  no  matter  how  long  they 
have  lived  in  the  Islands  —  because  American  residents 
in  the  Philippines  do  not  mingle  intimately  with  the  peo- 
ple, especially  if  they  are  men  occupying  high  positions 
in  the  Government,  in  the  church,  whether  Protestant  or 
Catholic,  or  in  business. 

If  you  want  to  know  how  we  feel  and  what  we  think, 
you  must  take  our  words  for  it.  You  cannot  learn  it  in 
any  other  way.  Do  not  always  attribute  to  us  selfish 
motives. 

The  Philippine  Assembly,  the  only  national  repre- 
sentative body  of  the  Archipelago,  has  several  times  pe- 
titioned Congress  to  grant  the  Islands  independence. 
The  following  words  of  Speaker  Sergio  Osmefia  on  the 
occasion  of  the  closing  of  the  first  Philippine  Assembly 


VOICE  OF  THE  FILIPINO  PEOPLE      183 

were  endorsed  by  every  province  and  municipality  of  the 
Islands : 

"  Permit  me,  Gentlemen  of  the  Chamber,  to  declare 
solemnly  before  God  and  before  the  world,  upon  my 
conscience  as  a  deputy  and  representative  of  my  com- 
patriots, and  under  my  responsibility  as  president  of 
this  chamber,  that  we  believe  the  people  desire  inde- 
pendence, that  it  believes  itself  capable  of  leading  an 
orderly  existence,  efficient  both  in  internal  and  external 
affairs,  as  a  member  of  the  free  and  civilized  nations; 
and  that  we  believe  that  if  at  this  moment  the  United 
States  should  grant  the  suit  of  the  Filipino  people  for 
liberty,  it  could  discharge  to  the  full  its  obligations  to- 
ward itself  and  toward  others,  without  detriment  to  lib- 
erty, to  law,  or  to  justice." 

The  opponents  of  Philippine  independence  would 
proceed :  The  masses  of  the  people  in  the  Philip- 
pines are  in  such  a  state  of  dense  ignorance  that 
they  know  nothing  and  care  less  about  independ- 
ence. Those  people  are  semi-civilized,  if  not  en- 
tirely savage.  Some  of  them  eat  dogs,  and  for 
proof  we  refer  you  to  the  St.  Louis  Exposition, 
where  Igorrotes  were  exhibited  engaged  in  that 
toothsome  pastime.  As  further  proof  of  the  de- 
plorable condition  of  those  people,  behold  the 
"  moving  "  and  "  nonmoving ''  pictures  of  naked 
natives  armed  with  bows  and  arrows  and  spears. 
It  would  be  a  pity  to  set  this  people  adrift.  The 
Government  of  the  United  States  alone  can  civilize 


184      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

them,  and  it  must,  for  the  sake  of  humanity,  under- 
take and  carry  to  its  successful  termination  this 
altruistic  work.    Again  Mr.  Quezon  would  answer : 

We  know  that  we  are  a  civilized  people  and  have  been 
civilized  for  300  years.  We  know  that  there  are  only 
600,000  non-Christians  in  the  Philippines,  while  there 
are  over  7,000,000  Christians,  that  45  per  cent,  of  the 
adult  Christians  were  literate  before  American  occupa- 
tion, and  that  at  least  fully  75  per  cent,  of  them  now  are. 
We  know  that  we  had  a  university  in  the  Philippines 
even  before  Harvard  University  was  established  and  that 
now  we  have  two.  We  know  that  we  had  1674  public 
schools  before  American  occupation,  distributed  among 
900  towns,  and  now  we  have  more  than  4000.  We  know 
that  we  had  colleges  in  every  important  capital  city  and 
several  in  Manila,  for  both  men  and  women,  before 
American  occupation,  and  that  now  the  number  has 
greatly  increased.  We  know  that  there  are  Filipinos  in 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  Islands  —  the  chief  justice  be- 
ing one  of  them  —  who  are  at  least  equal  to  their  Ameri- 
can associates.  We  know  that  two-thirds  of  the  judges 
of  the  courts  of  first  instance  are  Filipinos.  We  know 
that  all  the  justices  of  the  peace  are  Filipinos.  We  know 
that  the  municipal  and  provincial  governments  are  ad- 
ministered by  Filipinos  elected  by  Filipino  voters.  We 
know  that  the  Philippine  Assembly,  the  lower  house  of 
the  legislature,  is  composed  entirely  of  Filipinos,  also 
elected  by  Filipino  voters ;  and  we  know  that  if  permit- 
ted to  elect  the  upper  house  of  the  legislature,  we  would 
elect  senators  who  would  be  equal  to  their  task.  We 
know  that  we  could  elect  a  President  who  would  be  at 


VOICE  OF  THE  FILIPINO  PEOPLE      185 

least  as  wise  and  patriotic  as  any  chief  executive  the 
President  of  the  United  States  could  appoint  over  us. 

Our  opponents  end  this  controversy  by  exclaiming, 
**  Behold  Mexico  to-day.  If  you  make  the  Philippines 
independent,  another  Mexican  situation,  which  would 
perplex  the  United  States  with  a  repetition  of  the 
*  watchful  waiting  '  policy,  is  sure  to  arise." 

This  Mexican  argument  seems  effective  nowadays.  I 
do  not  know  much  about  Mexico  and  the  causes  that 
lay  at  the  root  of  this  unfortunate  disturbance  in  that 
republic.  But  there  is  something  I  can  say  in  connec- 
tion with  this  argument.  In  the  first  place,  when  we 
judge  other  people's  affairs  it  is  well  to  remember  that 
paragraph  of  the  Scriptures  which  tells  us,  in  effect, 
that  we  should  be  fully  aware  of  the  beam  in  our  own 
eye  before  commenting  on  the  mote  in  that  of  our  neigh- 
bor. "What  nation  on  the  face  of  the  earth  has  been  free 
from  internal  disorders  or  revolution?  What  nation 
can  say  that  it  will  ever  be  free  from  this,  the  most  dread- 
ful calamity  that  can  befall  any  country  ? 

In  the  second  place,  let  me  give  you  some  points  re- 
specting the  principal  differences  between  conditions  in 
Mexico  and  conditions  in  the  Philippines,  which  may  ex- 
plain why  we  confidently  expect  that  which  is  going  on 
in  the  distressed  Republic  of  Mexico  will  not  happen 
in  the  Islands  if  free  from  the  control  of  the  United 
States.  I  am  making  no  invidious  comparisons,  but 
merely  stating  facts.  Mexico  acquired  its  independence 
from  Spain  by  force  of  arms,  and  previous  to  that  time 
the  people  of  Mexico  took  no  part  in  the  government  of 
their  country.  Despotic  foreign  absolutism  was  the 
kind  of  government  that  prevailed  in  Mexico  until  then. 


186      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

Once  independent,  a  democratic  form  of  government 
was  established.  The  change  was  so  radical  that  the 
failure  of  the  new  government  was  inevitable.  More- 
over, the  great  majority  of  the  people  —  upon  which 
democratic  governments  must  depend  —  did  not  have 
either  education  or  property,  and  therefore  did  not  pos- 
sess those  qualifications  leading  to  the  maintenance  of 
public  order  and  of  law.  To  this  day  knowledge  and 
wealth  are  still  the  monopoly  of  the  few.  In  the  Phil- 
ippines, on  the  contrary,  the  majority  of  the  people  are 
literate  and  property  owners.  Besides,  we  have  been 
practising  the  art  of  self-government  for  seventeen  years 
under  American  supervision.  During  this  time  we  have 
been  electing  our  provincial  and  municipal  officials,  mem- 
bers of  our  assembly,  and,  although  the  political  cam- 
paigns in  the  Philippines  are  heated,  we  have  abided  by 
the  results  of  the  elections  or  have  gone  to  the  courts 
with  our  protests.  We  have  never  resorted  to  arms  to 
settle  any  controversy. 

Now,  these  are  precisely  the  conditions  that  give  sta- 
bility to  a  democratic  government  —  an  intelligent  and 
property-owning  electorate  habituated  to  respect  the  will 
of  the  majority. 

But  after  all  is  said  and  done,  the  question  as  to  the 
Filipino  capacity  for  self-government  can  be  satisfacto- 
rily answered  only  by  a  practical  showing. 

But  why  should  not  the  Filipino  people  be  con- 
tent with  American  rule?  Americans  ask.  They 
now  have  a  greater  trade,  better  roads,  more 
schools,  greater  personal  liberties,  a  good,  efficient 


VOICE  OF  THE  FILIPINO  PEOPLE      187 

government.     They  are  in  reality  a  free  people. 
Mr.  Quezon  has  a  ready  reply  to  this : 

I  will  answer  in  the  language  of  that  great  apostle  of 
human  freedom,  Daniel  Webster : 

"  No  matter  how  easy  may  be  the  yoke  of  a  foreign 
power,  no  matter  how  lightly  it  sits  upon  the  shoulders, 
if  it  is  not  imposed  by  the  voice  of  his  own  nation  and 
of  his  own  country,  he  wUl  not,  he  cannot,  and  he  means 
not  to  be  happy  under  its  burden. ' ' 

Despite  the  increase  of  our  trade,  the  large  number 
of  our  schools,  the  improvement  of  our  means  of  com- 
munication and  transportation,  and  other  social  and 
religious  activities,  we  are  more  dissatisfied  with  the 
present  regime.  What  then  do  we  need?  What  do  we 
want?  We  need,  we  want  to  accomplish  that  which 
alone  can  really  make  a  people  happy ;  our  own  self-mas- 
tery. In  the  language  of  President  Wilson,  "  We 
would  rather  starve  a  free  people  than  be  fed  a  mere 
thing." 

In  other  words,  it  is  not  your  philanthropy,  your  re- 
ligious, commercial,  or  governmental  aid  that  we  need 
or  desire ;  it  is  your  recognition  of  our  right  to  claim  and 
to  enjoy  that  which  is  most  dear  to  you :  Freedom. 

That  which  is  good  government  for  one  people  might 
not  be  good  for  another.  That  is  a  good  government 
which  best  secures  the  happiness  and  prosperity  of  the 
people  which  it  governs.  To  accomplish  this,  a  gov- 
ernment must  know  the  needs  of  the  country  and  must 
not  only  feel  its  responsibility  to  the  country  but  must 
love  it  as  well.  We  give  the  Americans  credit  for  try- 
ing to  do  their  best  in  the  Islands  to  make  the  Filipinos 


188     THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

happy  and  prosperous,  but  the  wisest  American  will 
never  know  the  Filipino  as  the  Filipino  knows  himself, 
and  the  most  altruistic  American  can  never  love  the 
Philippines  as  much  as  the  Filipinos  love  their  own 
country.  It  is,  therefore,  manifestly  impossible  for  an 
American  government  in  the  Philippines  to  be  as  suc- 
cessful as  a  Philippine  independent  government  will  be. 
"  No  man  is  good  enough  to  govern  another  without  that 
other's  consent,"  said  Lincoln. 

To  those  who  assert  that  the  Filipinos,  although  under 
American  guardianship,  are  a  free  people,  let  me  say 
that  freedom  and  guardianship  are  two  incompatible 
ideas.  The  fact  that  the  Filipinos  are  given  in  the  Or- 
ganic Act  the  same  individual  rights  that  the  American 
citizens  have,  with  the  exception  of  the  right  to  bear 
arms  and  be  tried  by  jury,  does  not  make  the  Filipino 
as  free  as. an  American  citizen,  as  has  been  alleged.  A 
free  man  is  he  whose  rights  are  secured  by  himself  and 
cannot  be  taken  away  from  him  at  will.  Our  so-called 
individual  rights  are  granted  to  us  by  Congress,  which 
has  reserved  the  right  to  take  them  away  from  us  at  any 
time. 

The  case  of  Canada,  Australia  and  other  self-govern- 
ing British  colonies  has  been  cited  to  prove  that  a  peo- 
ple may  not  have  national  independence  and  yet  be  free. 
But  the  people  of  these  colonies  are  a  free  people  be- 
cause their  very  loose  connection  with  Great  Britain  is 
of  their  own  will  and  the  mother  country  may  not  inter- 
fere with  their  affairs.  Our  status  is  wholly  at  variance 
with  the  Canadians  or  Australians.  We  are  not  free, 
neither  as  a  people  nor  as  individuals. 

Mr.  Quezon  concludes : 


VOICE  OF  THE  FILIPINO  PEOPLE      189 

Their  ambition  to  have  a  national  existence  has  been 
the  overwhelming  force  that  made  them  strive  to  ac- 
quire education,  to  better  their  sanitation,  to  increase 
and  accumulate  wealth,  and  raise  their  standard  of  liv- 
ing. This  same  force  has  been  the  magic  and  secret 
cause  that  made  possible  the  work  of  three  generations 
done  in  a  single  decade.  Do  not  allow  the  present  ad- 
ministration ^  to  carry  out  its  avowed  policy  of  granting 
Philippine  independence ;  disappoint  in  this  manner  the 
Filipino  people;  let  them  know  that  no  one  of  the  liv- 
ing will  see  their  country  free  and  you  will  kill  them 
as  a  body  politic.  Their  enthusiasm  for  advancement 
will  die  out.  They  will  not  do  as  much  business;  for 
what  is  the  use  of  wealth  if.  we  cannot  look  at  our  f el- 
lowmen  as  equal  to  equal?  Their  children  will  lose  the 
eager  interest  for  learning  they  now  have;  for  what  is 
the  use  of  knowing  the  rights  of  man  and  of  people  if 
you  cannot  enjoy  them?  An  educated  man  is  more  un- 
happy if  he  is  not  free  than  an  ignorant  man  under  the 
same  conditions.  But  let  us  have  independence  and  our 
progress  will  receive  the  greatest  impulse. 

Conditions?  You  may  impose  what  you  will  for  the 
granting  of  that  boon.  There  is  nothing  that  we  are 
not  prepared  to  do  or  give  to  accomplish  our  national 
ambition.  Do  you  want  to  make  the  Philippines  the 
scene  of  your  religious  activities  ?  You  will  be  perfectly 
welcome  to  do  so.  We  shall  guarantee  full  protection 
to  your  priests  and  ministers.  Do  you  want  our  market 
for  your  goods  and  do  you  wish  to  use  it  as  your  base 
of  supply  for  your  Oriental  trade?  We  shall  give  you 
every  facility  you  need.     Do  you  want  to  develop  our 

8  Mr.  Quezon  means  the  Democratic  administration. 


190      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

natural  resources?  "We  shall  open  to  you  our  mines 
and  our  forests,  and  shall  give  you  our  labor.  Is  it  not 
better  for  you  to  deal  with  us  as  friends  in  whatever  field 
we  may  meet  ? 

And  we  can  be  friends  only,  if  we  are  not  your  sub- 
jects. There  can  be  no  friendship  between  the  ruler 
and  the  ruled.  There  can  be  no  friendship  unless  there 
is  mutual  respect.  And  you  cannot  respect  us,  while  we 
are  treated  as  your  wards.  These  are  no  perfunctory 
words.  Every  American  familiar  with  conditions  in  the 
Philippine  Islands  knows  with  what  hardly  concealed 
contempt  the  natives  are  treated  by  the  Americans 
there.  The  attitude  of  superiority,  which  is  natural  in 
an  Anglo-Saxon,  is  augmented  by  the  feeling  of  political 
mastery  which  necessarily  is  felt  by  colonial  administra- 
tors. And  this  is,  of  course,  offensive  to  the  Filipinos, 
and  it  is  an  offense  that  reaches  the  innermost  of  a  man's 
soul.  This  evil  can  only  be  remedied  by  the  recognition 
of  the  right  of  the  Filipinos  to  be  free  from  all  foreign 
rule. 

My  closing  words,  therefore,  are:  If  you  want  to 
have  a  good  market  in  the  Philippines;  if  you  want  to 
exercise  there  the  influence  of  your  ministers  and 
priests;  if  you  want  your  institutions  admired;  if  you 
want  to  gain  our  love  —  there  is  only  one  policy  that 
can  accomplish  this  —  that  of  immediately  taking  steps 
for  the  speedy  granting  of  Philippine  independence. 

The  Americans  are  a  busy  commercial  people. 
After  the  novelty  of  the  Philippine  question  had 
passed  away,  contrary  to  the  expectation  of  the  im- 
perialists, they  returned  to  their  domestic  duties 


VOICE  OF  THE  FILIPINO  PEOPLE     191 

and  occupied  themselves  with  domestic  questions. 
The  early  cry  for  independence  coming  from  across 
the  ocean  8000  miles  away,  they  heard  but  faintly. 
The  casual  American  reader  now  and  then  finds 
some  little  report  in  the  newspapers  regarding  the 
desires  of  the  Filipino  people.  "  Filipinos  Want 
Freedom/'  says  the  headline  in  some  obscure  cor- 
ner of  his  favorite  daily.  "  Oh,  well,"  he  remarks, 
"  they  will  have  it  when  they  are  ready,"  and  dis- 
misses the  subject,  turning  to  the  sporting  page  or 
laying  down  the  paper  and  going  about  his  busi- 
ness. And  yet  there  is  something  in  that  cry  for 
independence  that  appeals  to  his  Americanism. 
On  the  next  occasion  when  he  sees  another  despatch 
he  perhaps  becomes  a  little  more  interested.  Then 
come  the  periodical  "  revolts  "  in  Luzon  or  Cebu. 
A  sensation  is  created.  The  word  "  Philippines  " 
is  again  on  the  front  page.  Our  reader  has  his  in- 
terest reawakened,  lets  his  imagination  stray  to 
those  far-off  mountains  of  Luzon,  and  wonders  if 
that  man  Aguinaldo  is  again  on  the  war-path. 
Once  the  sensation  over,  the  revolt  is  over;  for 
the  promise  of  the  confirmation  of  the  rumor  is 
never  forthcoming.  Our  reader  again  forgets  that 
there  is  such  a  thing  as  the  Philippine  Islands,  un- 
til suddenly  on  some  dull,  uninteresting  day,  while 
hungering  for  a  little  excitement,  he  sees  in  the 
glare  of  the  footlights  some  hardworking  "  scien- 


192      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

tist,"  fresh  from  the  backwoods  of  Luzon,  trium- 
phantly announcing  the  discovery  of  a  strange,  in- 
sidious plant  which  he  calls  "  Philippine  slavery  " 
—  and  our  reader  again  remembers  that  his  Govern- 
ment sixteen  years  ago  bought  a  piece  of  land  which 
has  since  become  an  experimental  station  for  sci- 
entists, missionaries,  educators,  experts,  and  what 
not. 

Thus  even  those  things  which  are  calculated  to 
prejudice  the  American  mind  against  the  Philip- 
pines have  helped  to  recall  to  Americans  the  ex- 
istence of  a  people  whose  future  and  happiness  have 
been  placed  in  their  hands.  American  public 
opinion  is  often  strange  in  its  workings.  It  has 
its  ebbs  and  flow.  Sometimes  it  appears  unreason- 
able and  passionate ;  at  other  times,  slow,  cold,  un- 
responsive. But  underneath  its  spasmodic,  out- 
ward manifestations  there  is  a  steady,  invisible 
undercurrent,  constantly  gaining  in  momentum, 
likely  to  make  itself  felt  when  least  expected. 

When  first  the  demand  for  independence  was 
voiced  by  the  Filipino  people  in  America,  the  re- 
tentionists  chuckled  behind  their  desks,  confident 
in  their  strong  position  acquired  after  years  of  con- 
stant campaigning.  Despite,  however,  their  prot- 
estations to  the  contrary,  the  desire  of  the  Fili- 
pino people  for  independence  had  become  a  settled 
proposition  in  the  mind  of  the  American  people. 


VOICE  OF  THE  FILIPINO  PEOPLE      193 

The  stanchest  enemies  of  independence  have  now 
to  admit  that  the  Filipinos  do  want  independence. 
A  few  years  ago,  ex-President  Taft  expressed  the 
belief  that  the  longer  the  Filipinos  remained  under 
American  rule,  the  less  they  would  want  inde- 
pendence. To-day  he  is  one  of  the  first  to  admit 
that  "  most  of  them  "  do  want  independence,  per- 
haps "  90  per  cent,  of  the  ignorant  Filipinos." 

The  first  issue  which  came  before  Congress  be- 
tween the  defenders  of  American  administration  in 
the  Islands  and  the  Filipino  advocates  of  inde- 
pendence, was  the  friar-land  controversy.  The 
friar-land  estate  of  Mindoro,  called  the  San  Jos6 
Estate,  amounting  to  55,000  acres,  had  been  sold 
by  the  Philippine  Government  to  an  American  cor- 
poration. 

Charges  were  made  that  administrators  in  the 
Philippine  Government  were  enriching  themselves 
by  buying  the  best  of  these  lands.  These  acts  were 
denounced  by  Congressman  Martin,  of  Colorado,  as 
exploitation,  pure  and  simple.  He  was  stren- 
uously supported  by  the  Anti-Imperialist  League  of 
Boston,  which  claimed  that  its  original  contention 
that  Philippine  exploitation  was  the  prime  object 
of  Philippine  occupation  was  now  being  justified. 
It  was  also  argued  that  such  sales  were  illegal  in- 
asmuch as  the  law  explicitly  provided  that  public 
lands  should  not  be  sold  to  corporations  in  tracts 


194      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

of  more  than  2500  acres  each,  and  that  friar  lands 
were  as  much  public  lands  as  the  other  domains  of 
the  Philippine  Government.  The  Filipino  people 
were  a  unit  in  their  disapproval  of  this  sale,  view- 
ing it  with  much  concern  and  alarm.  Although 
the  House  of  Representatives  was  still  controlled 
by  the  Republicans,  Congressman  Martin  succeeded 
in  having  the  Committee  on  Insular  Affairs  au- 
thorized to  investigate  the  truth  of  the  charge. 
Governor  Forbes,  Commissioner  Worcester,  Secre- 
tary Carpenter,  Attorney-General  Villamor  and  the 
late  Mr.  Del  Pan,  attorney  for  the  Government, 
were  called  to  Washington  to  testify.  They  all, 
of  course,  endeavored  to  justify  the  action  of  the 
Philippine  administration.  The  majority  of  the 
committee  made  a  report  favorable  to  the  Philip- 
pine Government,  but  it  was  evident  that  many  of 
its  members  did  not  approve  of  a  situation  in  which 
the  employees  of  the  Philippine  Government  bought 
lands  which  they  themselves  were  holding  prac- 
tically as  trustees  of  the  Filipino  people.  It  was 
contended  that  friar-lands  were  in  no  sense  public 
lands;  but,  although  the  Philippine  officials  were 
thus  apparently  vindicated,  one  notable  thing  about 
the  whole  agitation  was  the  appearance  for  the  first 
time  of  an  entirely  new  element  in  the  discussion 
of  Philippine  questions  in  the  United  States. 
That  element  was  the  voice  of  the  Filipino  people 


VOICE  OF  THE  FILIPINO  PEOPLE     195 

expressed  through  their  representative.  On  the 
friar-land  question,  it  was  a  dissent  from  the  posi- 
tion of  the  administration,  and  it  was  Mr.  Quezon 
who  voiced  that  dissent.  General  Edwards,  then 
Chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Insular  Affairs,  foresaw 
other  obstacles  that  this  new  element  in  the  discus- 
sion might  place  in  the  way  of  the  policy  of  the  de- 
partment, and  openly  warned  Mr.  Quezon  that 
should  he  insist  in  continuing  in  that  attitude, 
every  effort  would  be  made  to  retire  him  from  the 
Resident  Commissionership. 

In  the  meanwhile  the  political  situation  was  fast 
changing  in  America.  Democratic  prospects  be- 
came brighter.  The  Baltimore  convention  was 
held  and  though  the  Philippines  were  not  an  im- 
portant issue  during  its  deliberations,  it  ratified 
the  party's  former  position  on  imperialism. 
The  Philippine  question,  however,  was  hardly 
touched  upon  during  the  presidential  campaign  of 
1912.  It  was  less  prominent  as  an  issue  that  year 
than  in  any  previous  election.  The  American  peo- 
ple did  not  know,  nor  did  they  care  to  know,  Mr. 
Wilson's  views  on  the  Philippines.  When  asked 
his  views  Mr.  Wilson  chose  to  answer  that  he  had 
not  given  the  question  much  thought.  The  Ameri- 
can people,  harassed  by  domestic  controversies,  ex- 
cited by  the  prospect  of  a  change  of  party  in  power, 
did  not  have  the  Philippines  in  mind  when  they 


196     THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

voted  in  1912.  It  was  only  after  the  election  of 
President  Wilson  that  real  curiosity  was  aroused  as 
to  what  he  would  do  with  the  Philippines. 

After  several  months  of  delay,  which  led  to  many 
conjectures  as  to  what  this  new  Philippine  policy 
would  really  be,  President  Wilson,  with  one  stroke 
of  the  pen,  changed  the  whole  trend  of  the  Philip- 
pine experiment  by  appointing  a  majority  of  Fili- 
pinos to  the  Commission,  to  the  consternation  of 
the  advocates  of  the  old  order  who  had  vainly 
fought  for  its  continuance.  It  was,  moreover,  only 
after  he  had  heard  what  the  Filipino  people, 
through  their  representative,  had  to  say  that  he  ap- 
pointed the  new  executive  of  the  Islands,  a  man  who 
had  pronounced  views  on  Philippine  independence. 
The  new  Governor-General,  the  Hon.  Francis  Bur- 
ton Harrison,  delivered,  on  his  arrival  in  the 
Islands,  a  message  from  President  Wilson,  contain- 
ing the  most  definite  promise  of  independence  ever 
made  by  a  President.  For  the  first  time,  the  Fili- 
pinos felt  that  they  were  being  treated  as  a  people, 
a  group  of  persons  that  could  be  reached  as  a  unit 
and  could  think  as  a  unit.  Governor  Harrison  in 
conveying  the  President's  message,  said: 

CmZENS  OF  THE  PHnjn>PENE  ISLANDS: 

The  President  of  the  United  States  has  charged  me 
to  deliver  to  you  the  following  message  on  behalf  of  the 
Government  of  our  country; 


VOICE  OF  THE  FILIPINO  PEOPLE      197 

**  We  regard  ourselves  as  trustees  acting  not  for  the 
advantage  of  the  United  States  but  for  the  benefit  of 
the  people  of  the  Philippine  Islands. 

* '  Every  step  we  take  will  be  taken  with  a  view  to  the 
ultimate  independence  of  the  Islands  and  as  a  prepara- 
tion for  that  independence.  And  we  hope  to  move  to- 
wards that  end  as  rapidly  as  the  safety  and  the  perma- 
nent interests  of  the  Islands  will  permit.  After  each 
step  taken  experience  will  guide  us  to  the  next. 

"  The  Administration  will  take  one  step  at  once  and 
will  give  to  the  native  citizens  of  the  Islands  a  majority 
in  the  appointive  Commission,  and  thus  in  the  Upper 
as  well  as  in  the  Lower  House  of  the  Legislature  a  ma- 
jority representation  will  be  secured  to  them. 

*'  We  do  this  in  the  confident  hope  and  expectation 
that  immediate  proof  will  be  given,  in  the  action  of  the 
Commission  under  the  new  arrangement,  of  the  political 
capacity  of  those  native  citizens  who  have  already  come 
forward  to  represent  and  to  lead  their  people  in  affairs." 

This  is  the  message  I  bear  to  you  from  the  President 
of  the  United  States.  With  his  sentiments  and  with  his 
policy  I  am  in  complete  accord.  Within  the  scope  of 
my  office  as  governor-general  I  shall  do  my  utmost  to  aid 
in  the  fulfilment  of  our  promises,  confident  that  we  shall 
thereby  hasten  the  coming  of  the  day  of  your  independ- 
ence. For  my  own  part  I  should  not  have  accepted  the 
responsibility  of  this  great  office  merely  for  the  honor 
and  the  power  which  it  confers.  My  only  motive  in  com- 
ing to  you  is  to  serve,  as  well  as  in  me  lies,  the  people 
of  the  Philippine  Islands.  It  is  my  greatest  hope  that  I 
may  become  an  instrument  in  the  further  spread  of 
democratic  government. 


198      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

To  every  Democrat,  government  rests  only  upon  the 
consent  of  the  governed.  And  we  do  not  maintain  that 
self-government  is  the  peculiar  property  of  our  nation, 
or  that  democratic  institutions  are  the  exclusive  privilege 
of  our  race.  On  the  other  hand  we  do  not  believe  that 
we  can  endow  you  with  the  capacity  for  self-government. 
That  you  must  have  acquired  for  yourselves.  The  op- 
portunity of  demonstrating  it  lies  before  you  now  in  an 
ever-widening  field. 

As  for  ourselves,  we  confidently  expect  of  you  that 
dignity  of  bearing  and  that  self-restraint  which  are  the 
outward  evidences  of  daily  increasing  national  conscious- 
ness. In  promising  you  on  behalf  of  the  Administration 
immediate  control  of  both  branches  of  your  Legislature 
I  remind  you,  however,  that  for  the  present  we  are  re- 
sponsible to  the  world  for  your  welfare  and  for  your 
progress.  Until  your  independence  is  complete  we  shall 
demand  of  you  unremitting  recognition  of  our  sover- 
eignty. 

You  are  now  on  trial  before  an  international  tribunal 
that  is  as  wide  as  the  world.  "We  who  appear  before  this 
august  court  in  the  light  of  your  advocates  are  proud  of 
the  privilege  that  has  fallen  to  us  and  we  do  not  shun 
the  responsibilities  of  our  role,  which  is  without  a  paral- 
lel in  history.  We  shall  eagerly  await  convincing  proof 
that  you  are  capable  of  establishing  a  stable  government 
of  your  own.  Such  a  government  may  not  necessarily 
denote  an  entire  reproduction  of  our  own  institutions 
but  one  which  guarantees  to  its  citizens  complete  se- 
curity of  life,  of  liberty,  and  of  property.  We  now  in- 
vite you  to  share  with  us  responsibility  for  such  a  govern- 
ment here.     Every  Filipino  may  best  serve  his  country 


VOICE  OF  THE  FILIPINO  PEOPLE      199 

who  serves  us  in  this  endeavor.  And  to  that  end  I  call 
upon  every  good  citizen  of  these  islands  and  all  who 
dwell  therein,  whether  of  native  or  foreign  birth,  for  as- 
sistance and  support. 

People  of  the  Philippine  Islands!  A  new  era  is 
dawning!  We  place  within  your  reach  the  instruments 
of  your  redemption.  The  door  of  opportunity  stands 
open  and,  under  Divine  Providence,  the  event  is  in  your 
own  hands. 

Many  of  those  who  took  at  face  value  the  state- 
ments of  Mr.  Taft,  that  the  American  policy  in  the 
Islands  was  the  gradual  extension  of  self-govern- 
ment to  the  natives,  were  not  alarmed  at  the  change 
President  Wilson  had  thus  inaugurated  in  the  Com- 
mission. They  said  that  it  was  not  only  in  line 
with,  but  was  the  natural  and  immediate  sequence 
of,  Mr.  Taft's  policy.  The  Filipino  people  had  had 
a  lower  house  for  some  years,  with  evident  success, 
and  therefore  it  was  now  time  to  give  them  con- 
trol of  the  upper  house.  There  were  others  —  espe- 
cially those  who  had  taken  part  in  the  administra- 
tion of  the  Philippines  —  who  contended  that  the 
reform  gave  all  power  to  the  Filipinos  and  thus 
destroyed  the  basis  of  American  government  in  the 
Islands.  There  were,  on  the  other  hand,  still  those 
who  thought  the  reform  not  suflQciently  radical  to 
satisfy  the  President's  past  pledges  nor  sufficiently 
conservative  to  protect  the  interests  of  Americans  in 
the  Islands.     "  All  this  shows,"  commented  "  The 


200      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

Filipino  People,"  ^  "  how  slight,  undeveloped,  and 
unsatisfactory  is  the  public  opinion  regarding  the 
Philippine  issue  upon  which  the  President  can  rely, 
or  to  which  he  can  appeal.  He  must,  in  short,  go 
forward  with  the  development  of  a  public  opinion 
bottomed  upon  general  principles  of  justice  and 
equity,  relying  upon  the  soundness  of  underlying 
popular  judgment  to  sustain  him.  As  we  have 
often  said  in  the  past,  the  American  public  is  in- 
different to,  and  ignorant  of,  actual  details  of  gov- 
ernment in  the  Philippines.  It  looks  to  its  leaders 
to  inform  it,  to  shape  its  opinions  and  to  steer  it 
upon  its  course.  It  will  test  the  soundness  of  the 
advice  and  direction  supplied  it  by  the  character  of 
the  results  obtained  and  in  the  meantime  it  will  pay 
little  heed  to  the  conflicting  voices  sent  up  from 
selfish,  uninformed,  or  ignorant  sources." 

In  reality,  however,  Mr.  Wilson's  administrative 
policy  is  diametrically  opposed  to  Mr.  Taft's.  The 
former  President  has  made  this  clear,  for  he  never 
lets  an  opportunity  slip  by  without  a  criticism  of 
the  new  policy.  The  two  administrative  policies 
may  be  contrasted  as  follows:  Mr.  Taft  would 
control  the  whole  Philippine  Government,  direct 
the  entire  development  of  the  country  and  the  prog- 
ress of  the  people,  giving  the  natives  advisory  and 
some  slight  legislative  power  while  at  the  same  time 

*NoT»mber,  1913. 


VOICE  OF  THE  FILIPINO  PEOPLE      201 

promising  them  in  a  distant,  vague  future,  self-gov- 
ernment. Americans  would  be  the  directing  force 
in  this  formative  period  of  Philippine  nationhood; 
the  Filipinos  a  mere  advisory  or  negative  element. 
Mr.  Wilson,  on  the  other  hand,  would  give  them 
at  once  the  control  of  —  quoting  his  own  words  — 
"  the  essential  instruments  of  their  life,  their  local 
instrumentalities  of  government,  their  schools,  all 
the  common  interests  of  their  communities,"  so  that 
they  could  "set  up  a  government  which  all  the 
world  will  see  to  be  suitable  to  a  people  whose  af- 
fairs are  under  their  control."  "  By  their  counsel 
and  experience  rather  than  by  our  own,  we  shall 
learn  how  best  to  serve  them  and  how  soon  it  will 
be  possible  and  wise  to  withdraw  our  supervision," 
says  Mr.  Wilson.  He  would  give  them,  in  a  word, 
"  the  instruments  of  their  redemption,"  and,  as 
their  Governor,  Mr.  Harrison,  interpreted  it,  teach 
them  self-government  by  the  exercise  of  self-govern- 
ment. 

Hardly  had  the  new  regime  been  set  in  working 
order  in  the  Islands  when  reports  of  its  disastrous 
effects  began  to  flood  the  entire  Union.  American 
employees,  it  was  reported,  were  dismissed  by  the 
hundred;  their  families  were  dying  of  hunger. 
Government  efficiency  had  become  a  thing  of  the 
past.  Governor  Harrison  was  denounced  and  vili- 
fied in  the  eyes  of  his  own  people  as  the  principal 


202     THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

source  of  all  these  evils,  when  his  only  crime  was 
his  great  zeal  and  unswerving  determination  to 
help  the  Filipinos  realize  their  dream  of  inde- 
pendence. Business  was  said  to  be  totally  par- 
alyzed. Indeed,  at  the  very  mention  of  Mr.  Wil- 
son's Philippine  policy,  the  New  York  "  Herald  " 
correspondent  declared  that,  "like  a  clock  in  a 
house  shaken  by  an  earthquake,  that  new-found 
business  expansion  stopped ;  like  a  pulse  in  the  body 
struck  by  lightning,  the  current  of  its  life  ceased  to 
throb." 

Strange  as  it  may  seem,  in  spite  of  all  these  out- 
rageous reports  of  conditions  in  the  Islands,  the 
American  people  went  on  as  usual  with  their  domes- 
tic duties,  as  if  nothing  had  happened.  In  vain  did 
Mr.  Worcester  and  his  followers  depict  in  most 
glowing  colors  the  terrible  calamity  that  had  be- 
fallen the  Islands.  In  vain  was  the  plaint  of  the 
"  sufferers "  echoed  and  reechoed  from  east  to 
west.  Even  the  patriotism  of  the  American  people 
failed  to  respond  to  the  cry  purporting  to  have 
come  from  hundreds  of  gallant  veterans  who  had 
been  ignominiously  "  dismissed  from  the  Philippine 
service."  It  may  be  said  that  the  American  people 
displayed  on  this  occasion  that  splendid  optimism 
and  reliance  in  the  principle  of  self-government 
that  have  always  characterized  them.  They  never 
in  fact  realized  the  nature  of  the  government  they 


VOICE  OF  THE  FILIPINO  PEOPLE     203 

had  set  up  in  the  Philippines.  An  imposed, 
bureaucratic  government,  irresponsible  to  the  peo- 
ple, is  foreign  to  their  nature,  to  their  method  of 
thought.  To  them  self-government  is  the  natural 
government  of  man. 


CHAPTER  X 

THE  JONES  PHILIPPINE  BILL 

TO  ratify  President  Wilson's  reforms  in  the 
Philippine  Government  and  to  embody  into 
law  the  independence  pledge  contained  in  the  Balti- 
more platform,  a  bill  was  introduced  by  Mr.  Jones 
of  Virginia  in  the  House  of  Representatives  in  July, 
1914.  This  measure  contained  three  main  features : 
1.  A  preamble  in  the  form  of  a  solemn  legislative 
declaration  of  intent  on  the  part  of  the  United 
States  to  recognize  Philippine  independence  as  soon 
as  a  stable  government  can  be  established  in  the 
Islands.     This  preamble  read  as  follows : 

Whereas  it  was  never  the  intention  of  the  people  of 
the  United  States  in  the  incipieney  of  the  war  with 
Spain  to  make  it  a  war  of  conquest  or  for  territorial 
aggrandizement;  and 

Whereas  it  is,  as  it  has  always  been,  the  purpose  of 
the  people  of  the  United  States  to  withdraw  their  sover- 
eignty over  the  Philippine  Islands  and  to  recognize  their 
independence  as  soon  as  a  stable  government  can  be  es- 
tablished therein ;  and 

Whereas  for  the  speedy  accomplishment  of  such  pur- 
pose it  is  desirable  to  place  in  the  hands  of  the  people  of 

204 


THE  JONES  PHILIPPINE  BILL       205 

the  Philippines  as  large  a  control  of  their  domestic  af- 
fairs as  can  be  given  them  without,  in  the  meantime,  im- 
pairing the  exercise  of  the  rights  of  sovereignty  by  the 
people  of  the  United  States,  in  order  that,  by  the  use  and 
exercise  of  popular  franchise  and  governmental  powers, 
they  may  be  the  better  prepared  to  fully  assume  the  re- 
sponsibilities and  enjoy  all  the  privileges  of  complete  in- 
dependence:    Therefore  .  .  ."^ 

2.  Provision  extending  the  power  of  internal  self- 
government  in  the  Philippines,  both  by  the  grant- 
ing of  new  powers  to  the  Government  and  by  the 
creation  of  an  elective  Senate. 

3.  Provisions  specifying  the  nature  of  the  rela- 
tionship between  the  Philippine  Government  and 
that  of  the  United  States,  and  giving  to  the  Ameri- 
can governor-general  a  limited,  and  to  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  an  absolute,  veto  power. 
Such  provisions  do  not  relinquish  any  of  the  con- 
trol or  supervision  which  the  United  States  is  now 
able  to  exercise  over  the  foreign  political  affairs 

iThe  words  in  the  preamble  were  afterwards  changed  in 
the  Senate  Committee  to  read  as  follows : 

"  Whereas  it  is  desirable  to  place  in  the  hands  of  the  people 
of  the  Philippines  such  an  increasing  control  of  their  domestic 
affairs  as  can  be  given  them  without,  in  the  meantime,  im- 
pairing the  sovereignty  of  the  United  States,  in  order  that, 
by  the  use  and  exercise  of  popular  franchise  and  govern- 
mental powers,  they  may  be  the  better  prepared  to  fully 
assume  the  responsibilities  and  enjoy  all  the  privileges  of 
complete  independence,  which  it  is  the  purpose  of  the  United 
States  to  grant,  when,  in  the  judgment  of  the  United  States, 
the  people  of  the  Philippine  Islands  shall  have  shown  them- 
selves to  be  fitted  therefor:     Therefore  .  .  ." 


206      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

of  the  Islands.  The  Philippine  Legislature,  while 
authorized  to  provide  its  own  customs  duties,  can- 
not under  the  bill  make  any  change  in  the  trade 
relations  between  the  United  States  and  the  Islands, 
nor,  without  express  approval  of  the  President, 
change  the  currency  and  coinage  laws.  Neither 
can  it  without  such  Presidential  approval,  alienate 
the  valuable  timber,  mineral,  and  other  lands  w^hich 
constitute  a  part  of  the  public  domain  of  the  Philip- 
pine Islands.  The  President  would  also  have  the 
absolute  veto  power  upon  all  legislation,  and  in  cer- 
tain important  subjects,  his  prior  assent  must  be 
secured  before  the  laws  relating  to  them  become 
valid.  There  is  expressly  reserved  to  the  Congress 
of  the  United  States  the  right  to  annul  any  or  all 
legislation  enacted  by  the  Philippine  Legisla- 
ture. 

The  Filipino  people  gave  their  support  to  this 
bill  as  a  great  step  forward  but  not  as  a  finality. 
Their  over-mastering  thought  is  the  complete  inde- 
pendence of  their  country.  Their  official  organ  in 
America,  "  The  Filipino  People,"  commented  on  the 
bill  as  follows : 

That  it  will  be  a  disappointment  to  many  who  had 
hoped  that  the  present  Administration  of  the  United 
States  intended  to  effect  the  immediate  separation  of 
the  Philippines  from  the  domination  of  America,  we  have 
no  doubt.    That  they  will  feel  that  the  new  bill  repre- 


THE  JONES  PHILIPPINE  BILL       207 

sents  far  less  than  ought  to  have  been  conceded,  that 
they  will  deeply  regret  the  failure  to  state  the  date  at 
which  independence  is  to  be  definitely  granted,  and  that 
they  will  in  some  cases  urge  a  policy  of  postponement 
rather  than  the  acceptance  of  a  compromise  —  we  like- 
wise understand.  We  do  not,  of  course,  regard  this  bill 
as  a  finality.  "Were  it  so,  we  should  never  consent  to  its 
consideration  or  enactment.  Did  it  debar  us  from  con- 
tinued agitation  and  effort  to  secure  the  enactment  of 
final  independence  legislation,  we  should  oppose  it  to 
the  uttermost.  But  such  is  not  the  case.  The  issue  now 
presented  is  that  of  securing  some  forward  step  while  a 
party  friendly  to  the  aspirations  of  the  Filipino  people 
is  still  in  office:  To  adopt  a  measure  which  at  least 
represents  some  progress,  which  gives  assurance  that 
ground  already  gained  shall  not  be  lost,  is,  we  think,  only 
the  part  of  wisdom,  and  is  dictated  by  every  considera- 
tion of  expediency  and  of  the  immediate  interest  of  the 
people.  Were  we  to  reject  any  concession,  even  the 
smallest,  that  would  advance  the  welfare  of  the  people  of 
the  Philippines,  we  should  be  false  to  our  trust  and  neg- 
lectful of  our  responsibility  to  public  interest.  If,  by 
accepting  the  new  Jones  Bill  we  can  obtain  the  perma- 
nent maintenance  of  the  more  beneficent  order  of  things 
in  the  Philippines,  produced  by  the  advent  of  Governor- 
General  Harrison  and  the  greater  power  of  self-govern- 
ment given  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  Islands,  we  shall  at 
least  prevent  a  recurrence  to  the  abhorrent  tyranny  — 
now  happily  past  —  of  the  imperialistic  period.  If,  be- 
side this  immediate  and  practical  concession,  we  can  se- 
cure a  positive  promise  of  independence  from  Congress, 
such  as  is  afforded  in  the  preamble  to  the  new  Jones  Bill, 


208     THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

we  shall  have  before  us  a  hopeful,  instead  of  an  indefi- 
nite and  uncertain,  future. 

We,  therefore,  favor  the  passage  of  the  new  Jones 
Bill,  advise  its  acceptance  by  the  people  of  the  Philip- 
pines, and  pledge  ourselves  to  its  support.  If  enacted, 
the  measure  shall  have  our  hearty  and  sincere  coopera- 
tion, to  the  end  that  it  shall  be  put  into  effect  in  good 
faith,  without  reservation,  and  with  every  presumption 
in  its  favor.  That,  both  now  and  ever,  it  will  be  the 
duty,  as  it  undoubtedly  is  the  intent,  of  all  Filipinos  to 
continue  undiminished  effort  for  the  actual  practical 
establishment  of  independence,  free  of  all  foreign  con- 
trol, we  take  for  granted,  and  we  once  again  solemnly 
pledge,  both  to  the  Filipino  people  and  to  those  Ameri- 
can citizens  who  have  steadfastly  supported  the  cause 
of  free  government,  that  there  shall  be  no  cessation  or 
intermission  of  our  efforts  to  secure  the  independence 
of  the  Philippines,  either  now  or  in  the  future,  whatever 
Congress  may  do  or  may  fail  to  do.  "Without  the  ulti- 
mate accomplishment  of  that  end,  all  else  would  be  as 
nothing,  and  better  government,  wiser  management,  and 
larger  generosity  would  but  aggravate  the  disappoint- 
ment of  a  people  balked  of  its  dearest  and  most  legitimate 
aspiration. 

For  what  it  is,  therefore,  for  the  sake  of  its  genuine 
merits,  and  in  the  hope  of  realizing  its  ultimate  benefits 
in  the  form  of  a  more  vigorous  impulse  toward  complete 
independence,  we  accept  the  new  Jones  Bill,  but  we  hold 
fast  to  our  program  —  unalterable,  unassailable,  and 
permanent  as  it  is.  We  recognize  no  substitute,  admit 
no  alternative,  concede  no  reduction  of  our  righteous  de- 
mand for  the  absolute  independence  of  the  Philippines. 


THE  JONES  PHILIPPINE  BILL       209 

Anything  that  may  fall  short  of  that  ideal  must  be  re- 
garded as  a  tentative  step,  affording  an  earnest  of  later 
good,  desirable  no  doubt  in  temporary  effects,  but  no 
more  than  a  partial  measure  of  progress  toward  a  final 
goal. 

The  bill  was  reported  in  the  House  as  a  strictly 
party  measure  and  on  September  26,  1914,  it 
came  up  for  discussion.  Compared  with  the  dis- 
cussion of  the  peace  treaty  in  the  Senate  or  even  of 
the  Organic  Act  in  1902,  the  debate  on  the  Jones 
Bill  was  uninteresting  and  lifeless.  Few  promi- 
nent leaders  actively  participated  in  it.  There  was 
hardly  any  interest  manifest  on  the  part  of  the 
American  people.  If  the  attitude  of  the  American 
public  toward  President  Wilson's  insular  adminis- 
trative reforms  showed  how  uncertain  was  public 
opinion  on  the  Philippine  question,  the  discussion 
of  the  Jones  Bill  showed  even  more  plainly  how 
great  is  the  indifference  toward  the  whole  Philip- 
pine question  in  America.  Probably  one  explana- 
tion of  this  apathy  of  the  American  people  toward 
the  bill  was  the  fact  that  the  most  serious  basis 
for  contention,  the  declaration  contained  in 
the  preamble,  was,  after  all,  nothing  but  a  re- 
newal, in  a  more  definite  and  authoritative  form, 
of  the  repeated  promises  of  Republican  executives 
from  President  Eoosevelt  to  the  last  Eepublican 
governor-general,  to  the  effect  that  American  policy 


210      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

in  the  Islands  is  ultimate  Philippine  independence. 
We  have  seen  that  such  declarations  are  to  be  found 
both  in  the  addresses  of  governors-general  to  the 
Filipino  people  and  in  messages  of  Republican 
Presidents  to  Congress. 

The  majority  of  the  Republican  leaders  in 
Congress  did  not,  however,  view  the  preamble  in 
this  light.  They  were  against  its  declaration. 
While  most  of  them  perhaps  favored  the  spirit  of 
the  preamble,  they  did  not  like  the  words  in  which 
it  was  expressed.  These  words  were  too  ambiguous, 
they  said,  and,  what  was  more,  they  were  in  effect  a 
repetition  of  the  Baltimore  platform  —  a  political 
pledge  of  the  Democrats.  Other  Republicans,  while 
apparently  in  favor  of  ultimate  independence,  were 
unwilling  definitely  to  promise  it  to  the  Filipinos. 
The  Filipinos,  they  said,  should  show  faith  in  the 
American  people  who  are  always  just  and  should 
not  demand  any  definite  promise.  There  were  still 
others,  like  Ex-President  Taft,  who  asserted  that  to 
adopt  this  preamble  would  mean  endless  political 
agitation  in  the  Philippines,  since  the  Filipinos 
would  at  once  proceed  to  ask  immediate  independ- 
ence, contending  that  they  were  now  ready  for  it. 
There  were  still  others  who  were  frank  enough  to 
say  that  they  would  themselves  never  grant  inde- 
pendence to  the  Filipinos. 

Practically  no  opposition  was  manifest  in  Con- 


THE  JONES  PHILIPPINE  BILL       211 

gress  to  the  legislative  provisions  of  the  bill.  Even 
those  who  were  strongest  in  their  hostility  to  in- 
dependence were  willing  to  concede  a  liberal  form 
of  self-government  to  the  Filipinos.  Outside  of 
Congress,  those  few  who  had  personally  initiated  the 
Philippine  experiment,  who  would  continue  to  let 
government  control  rest  in  the  hands  of  five  Ameri- 
cans, alone  could  not  be  reconciled  to  the  idea  of 
Philippine  home-rule.  During  the  recent  hearings 
before  the  Senate  Philippine  Committee  all  the  wit- 
nesses, representing  every  element  that  has  had 
any  experience  in  the  Philippines  —  business 
men  and  ex-Philippine  officials  —  with  the  excep- 
tion of  Ex-President  Taft  and  Mr.  Worcester,  who 
are,  in  a  w  ay,  the  initiators  of  the  "  experiment," 
have  conceded  the  necessity  of  enacting  the  chief 
administrative  features  of  the  Jones  Bill.  It  is 
gratifying  to  note  that,  in  spite  of  the  passivity  of 
the  interest  of  the  American  people  in  the  Philip- 
pine question,  the  principle  of  home-rule  has  thus 
been  practically  assured  the  Filipinos.  This  is  also 
a  tribute  to  the  vigor  of  the  campaign  for  inde- 
pendence that  has  been  carried  on  in  America. 
Congressman  Cooper  of  Wisconsin,  who  was  the 
man  most  responsible  for  the  enactment  of  certain 
features  of  the  present  organic  act,  commented  on 
this  change  of  the  American  attitude  toward  the 
Philippines  in  the  following  words: 


212     THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

As  I  listen  to  this  discussion  the  thought  keeps  on  oc- 
curring to  me  of  the  astonishing  change  in  the  attitude 
of  the  House  and  of  the  American  people  generally  to- 
ward the  problem  of  the  Philippines.  .  .  ,  Twelve  years 
ago  the  House  debated  and  passed  the  bill  which  became 
the  organic  act  establishing  civil  government  in  the 
Philippines.  One  of  the  greatest  contests  was  over  the 
question  whether  the  Filipinos  should  have  a  legislature 
and  be  permitted  to  elect  the  lower  house.  This  sug- 
gestion for  an  elective  lower  house  met  powerful  opposi- 
tion and  was  very  strongly,  bitterly  denounced.  .  .  . 
The  Senate  Bill  contained  no  provision  for  an  elective 
assembly.  In  so  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  learn,  no 
senator  ever,  on  the  floor  of  the  Senate,  advocated  such  a 
proposition.  Only  the  House  Bill  contained  a  provision 
for  a  Philippine  Assembly  purely  elective.  .  .  .  An  elec- 
tive assembly  in  the  Philippines,  it  was  predicted,  would 
result  in  abject  failure. 

And  yet  there  is  now,  I  think,  no  gentleman  on  this 
floor  but  that  is  willing  to  vote  not  only  for  the  re- 
tention of  the  elective  lower  house,  but  also  for  the 
establishment  of  an  upper  house  of  senators  to  be  elected 
by  the  people  of  the  Philippines. 

One  great  benefit  gained  from  the  discussion  in 
the  House  is  that  it  clearly  laid  bare  the  position  of 
many  of  those  who  have  hitherto  been  noncommittal 
on  the  Philippine  question.  For  many  years,  ever 
since  the  "  sacred  mission "  idea  has  become  in- 
trenched in  the  American  mind,  we  have  heard 
little  but  the  now  hackneyed  argument  of  the  in- 
capacity of  the  Filipino  people  for  self-government 


THE  JONES  PHILIPPINE  BILL       213 

and  the  unparalleled  character  of  the  work  of  the 
American  Government  in  the  Islands,  directed  to 
the  uplifting  of  the  Filipino  people.  It  was,  there- 
fore, a  satisfaction  to  observe  that  at  least  one  prom- 
inent Republican  placed  his  attitude  against  inde- 
pendence on  an  entirely  different  ground.  Such 
an  one  was  Mr.  Mann  of  Illinois.  Inasmuch  as  his 
position  may,  in  the  opinion  of  the  writer,  be  prom- 
inently brought  forward  again  before  long,  I  shall 
reproduce  it  here.  He  conceded  that  the  Filipino 
people  were  capable  of  self-government,  and  would 
give  them  a  larger  measure  of  self-rule  than  is  al- 
lowed in  the  Jones  Bill,  but  he  would  never  give 
them  independence.  He  would  have  the  Filipinos 
want  to  remain  under  the  American  flag.  He 
would  make  them  friends  of  the  American  nation 
so  that  when  the  great  Asiatic  conflict,  industrial 
or  otherwise,  which,  to  his  mind,  is  ever  impending 
in  the  Orient,  comes,  the  American  people  may 
count  on  their  help.     He  said  in  part : 

We  command  the  Pacific  Ocean  to-day  with  the  land 
that  we  have  on  this  side,  with  the  islands  which  we  pos- 
sessed in  the  sea,  and  the  Philippines  on  the  other  side. 
Will  we  surrender  our  command  ?  I  say  no ;  never.  .  .  . 
I  assume,  for  the  purpose  of  ar^ment  at  least,  that  they 
are  capable  of  self-government.  I  am  in  favor  of  giving 
to  the  Filipino  people  the  broadest  liberty  of  self-govern- 
ment, retaining  them  under  the  American  flag.  I  think 
that  in  justice  to  our  country  and  to  those  who  will  come 


214      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

after  us  it  is  our  duty,  first,  to  keep  the  Philippines 
under  the  flag  of  the  United  States,  and,  second,  to  make 
them  our  friends.  It  would  be  no  great  advantage  to  the 
United  States  to  own  the  Philippine  Islands  or  to  have 
them  a  part  of  us  in  time  of  war  if  they  were  unfriendly 
to  us.  It  is  our  business  not  only  to  keep  them  under  our 
flag  but  to  make  them  want  to  stay  under  our  flag. 

This  was  certainly  a  departure  from  the  usual 
arguments  the  retentionists  have  been  employing 
for  more  than  a  decade.  Here  the  Filipinos  are 
not  called  barbarians  incapable  of  civilization ;  they 
are  not  classified  as  a  mere  conglomeration  of  tribes. 
On  the  contrary,  their  capacity  for  and  right  to 
self-government  are  conceded,  and  they  are  even 
recognized  as  a  factor  in  the  forthcoming  struggle 
in  the  Pacific.  Their  friendship  is  required  for  the 
maintenance  of  American  supremacy  in  the  Pacific ; 
hence  remain  they  must  under  the  American 
flag. 

What  would  the  United  States  do,  asked  Mr. 
Quezon,  should  the  Filipino  people  after  they  have 
been  granted  autonomy  still  demand  independence? 
Would  the  United  States  still  insist  in  such  a  case 
upon  keeping  the  Islands  against  the  will  of  their 
inhabitants?  Would  the  United  States  if  necessary 
resort  to  force  to  subject  them  to  the  American 
flag?  Would  the  retention  of  the  Philippines  un- 
der such  circumstances  be  an  aid  to  the  United 


THE  JONES  PHILIPPINE  BILL       215 

States  in  such  a  forthcoming  struggle  as  is  pre- 
dicted by  Mr.  Mann? 

Perhaps  the  gentleman  from  Illinois  is  right  in  his 
expectations  and  his  hope  that  the  day  will  some  time 
come  when  the  Filipino  people,  after  having  been  granted 
control  of  their  domestic  affairs  and  after  having  thus 
lived  for  so  many  years  under  the  American  flag  —  that 
would  then  mean  to  them  the  sovereignty  of  a  strong  and 
friendly  nation,  not  the  despotic  rule  of  a  tyrant  master 
—  may  prefer  to  be  permanently  a  self-governing  colony 
of  this  empire  rather  than  a  free  and  independent  re- 
public borne  by  this  mother  of  republics.  But  should 
that  ever  happen,  it  would  be  only  after  the  preamble 
of  this  bill  had  received  congressional  approbation ;  only 
after  the  Filipino  people  had  been  told  by  the  American 
people  through  its  constitutional  representative  —  the 
Congress  —  that  they  may  if  they  so  desire  be  some  day 
an  independent  and  sovereign  nation.  Then,  and  only 
then,  the  Filipino  people,  reassured  as  to  your  good  faith, 
convinced  that  whatever  you  may  pledge  yourself  to  do 
is  assured  of  fulfilment  when  once  the  pledge  is  given, 
no  matter  whether  your  selfish  interests  do  or  do  not  dic- 
tate otherwise  —  then,  and  only  then,  may  the  Filipino 
people  of  their  own  free  will  and  spontaneous  volition 
decide  that  they  prefer  to  maintain  a  permanent  political 
relationship  with  the  United  States.  And  then,  and  only 
then,  can  that  relationship  be  beneficial  to  both  peoples, 
a  real  protection  to  the  Philippines  and  a  source  of 
strength  to  the  United  States. 

The  bill  passed  the  House  on  October  14,  1914, 
with  every  Democratic  vote  for  it  and  some  fifteen 


216      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

Republican  votes  in  addition  —  a  total  of  211  ayes 
and  59  noes. 

The  bill,  however,  met  a  different  fate  in  the 
Senate.  It  was  included  in  the  Administration's 
legislative  program  for  the  last  session  of  the 
Sixty-third  Congress;  but  its  early  consideration 
was  soon  found  to  be  out  of  the  question,  not  be- 
cause of  any  serious  opposition,  but  because  the 
Shipping  Bill,  the  first  measure  on  the  program 
being  an. emergency  measure,  met  with  so  much  op- 
position that  more  than  two  thirds  of  the  time  of 
the  Senate  was  spent  in  fruitless  debate  and  in 
"  filibustering."  During  the  last  days  of  February, 
1915,  when  it  became  certain  that  the  much-com- 
bated Shipping  Bill  could  not  be  passed,  an  effort 
was  made  by  prominent  members  of  the  Senate,  with 
the  cooperation  of  the  President,  to  secure  an  agree- 
ment with  the  Republicans  by  which  the  Philippine 
Bill  could  be  brought  to  a  vote.  A  vote  at  that 
stage  of  the  session  could,  however,  be  secured  only 
by  the  unanimous  consent  of  the  members,  for  Con- 
gress had  only  a  few  days  of  its  life  remaining  and, 
due  to  the  rule  of  the  Senate  which  allows  unlimited 
debate,  one  or  two  senators  would  have  been  able 
by  protracting  the  discussion  "  to  talk  the  bill  to 
death."  When  a  canvass  of  senators  was  taken  and 
it  was  found  that  there  would  be  some  opposition 


THE  JONES  PHILIPriNE  BILL       217 

to  the  preamble,  a  compromise  was  offered  by  cer- 
tain Republican  senators  whereby  the  word  "  in- 
dependence "  in  the  preamble  would  have  been  elim- 
inated and  "  self-government "  substituted.  Had 
this  offer  been  accepted  the  bill  would  have  passed 
the  Senate  unanimously.  It  was  rejected  on  the 
ground  that  it  would  put  the  Democratic  party  in 
an  embarrassing  position  and  that  it  would  be 
better  to  have  no  bill  at  all  than  to  permit  the 
preamble  to  be  emasculated  in  the  way  suggested 
by  the  Republicans. 

Other  amendments  suggested  by  the  opposition 
would  have  explicitly  provided  that  the  promise 
of  independence  might  be  revoked  by  other  Con- 
gresses or  might  be  fulfilled  at  some  time  in  the  fu- 
ture without  making  the  date  of  such  fulfillment  de- 
pend upon  any  demonstration  of  fitness  or  unfitness 
on  the  part  of  the  Filipino  people.  All  these  pro- 
posals, of  course,  were  consequently  rejected.  It 
was  also  suggested  that  the  bill  be  passed  without 
preamble  and  that  the  original  preamble  be  intro- 
duced in  the  form  of  a  joint  resolution  to  be  pressed 
for  action  not  at  that  session  but  at  the  next  session 
of.  Congress.  The  advocates  of  independence  ob- 
jected to  this  plan.  In  the  first  place,  it  would  have 
meant  the  adoption  of  the  bill  practically  as  it  was 
reported  from  the  Senate  Committee  without  any 


218      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

opportunity  to  amend  some  of  its  provisions  which 
were  not  considered  very  satisfactory  but  which 
might  wisely  be  acquiesced  in  were  it  feasible  to 
pass  the  bill  with  the  preamble. 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE   CLARKE  AMENDMENT 

ON  the  very  day  of  the  opening  of  the  Sixty- 
fourth  Congress  Mr.  Jones  of  Virginia  rein- 
troduced his  Philippine  Bill  in  the  House  of 
Representatives,  and  a  few  days  later  Senator 
Hitchcock  took  similar  action  in  the  Senate  with 
his  bill.  Immediately  upon  the  organization  of  the 
Senate  Philippine  Committee,  Mr.  Hitchcock  called 
a  meeting,  and,  after  conducting  brief  hearings,  on 
December  17,  1915,  filed  a  favorable  report,  with  a 
change  made  in  the  preamble  whose  main  features 
have  already  been  considered.  Independence,  as 
now  recommended  to  the  Senate,  was  to  be  granted 
the  Filipinos  when,  in  the  judgment  of  the  United 
States,  it  would  be  "  to  the  permanent  interest  of 
the  people  of  the  Philippine  Islands  "  instead  of 
when  the  Filipino  people  should  have  "  shown  them- 
selves to  be  fitted  therefor," —  the  original  wording 
of  the  preamble.  This  change  was  made  because 
the  word  "  fitness  "  had  been  the  subject  of  con- 
stant, sometimes  bitter,  discussion  in  the  Islands. 
It  was  really  an  attempt  at  compromise  with  a  view 

219 


220      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

to  placing  further  discussion  of  independence  on 
tlie  ground  of  "  interest  "  and  "  convenience  "  rather 
than  of  "  fitness."  There  was  hope  that  ill-feeling 
and  friction  between  Americans  and  Filipinos 
would  thus  be  much  lessened  if  not  entirely  ended, 
because,  under  the  new  preamble,  no  allusion  or 
argument  that  was  hurtful  to  the  national  pride  of 
the  Filipino  people  would  likely  be  made.  The 
feeling  for  independence  had  manifestly  remained 
unabated  in  the  Islands,  for-  upon  the  convening  of 
the  Philippine  Assembly  on  October  16,  1915,  that 
body  again  unanimously  passed  a  resolution  peti- 
tioning Congress  for  the  enactment  of  an  independ- 
ence bill.  "  We  again  reiterate,"  the  resolution 
read,  "  in  the  name  of  the  Filipino  people,  the  na- 
tional desire  and  purpose  set  forth  on  many  former 
occasions.  .  .  .  We  wish  to  assure  a  stable  future 
for  our  people.  We  desire  an  increase  of  the  ele- 
ments of  our  national  life  and  progress.  We  ask 
yet  more,  and  for  that  reason,  in  reiterating,  as  we 
hereby  do  reiterate,  our  urgent  petition  for  liberty 
and  independence  for  the  people  of  the  Philippine 
Islands,  we,  the  elected  representatives  of  the 
Filipino  people,  express  our  confidence  that  the  ef- 
forts of  the  President  of  the  United  States  to  secure 
the  fulfilment  of  his  promises  and  the  realization  of 
our  lawful  hopes  will  obtain  early  and  complete 
success." 


THE  CLARKE  AMENDMENT  221 

The  quick  action  of  the  Senate  Philippine  Com- 
mittee at  once  placed  the  bill  on  the  Senate  calen- 
dar, and  when  that  body  reconvened  after  the  holi- 
day recess,  it  was  the  first  feature  of  the  so-called 
"  administration  legislative  program  "  to  be  ready 
for  action.  The  debate  began  in  the  Senate  on  Jan- 
uary 5,  1916,  and  attention  was  at  once  centered  on 
the  preamble.  Question  was  immediately  raised  as 
to  what  possible  interpretation  could  be  given  the 
independence  promise  contained  therein.  Would 
it  settle  in  a  satisfactory  manner  the  vexatious 
Philippine  problem?  Would  it  really  pave  the 
way  for  the  independence  of  the  Philippines? 
Could  it  not  be  construed  to  mean  that  the  Ameri- 
can nation  was  free  to  refuse  ever  to  grant  the 
Filipinos  their  independence  because  of  belief  that 
the  permanent  interests  of  the  Islands  would  al- 
ways demand  the  retention  of  the  Islands  by  the 
United  States?  In  the  opening  speech  of  Senator 
Hitchcock  he  was  interrupted  by  Senator  Cummins 
of  Iowa  with  this  same  inquiry.  "  Suppose,"  said 
Mr.  Cummins,  "  that  I  believe  it  would  be  better 
for  the  people  of  the  Philippine  Islands  to  remain 
permanently  attached  to  the  United  States  as  a 
State,  with  all  the  privileges  of  a  State,  or  other- 
wise, would  I  not  fulfil  the  promise  or  assurance 
of  the  preamble  in  voting  to  retain  the  Philippine 
Islands  as  a  part  of  the  territory  of  the  United 


222     THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

States?  "  To  this  Mr.  Hitchcock  very  candidly  an- 
swered, "  I  presume  the  Senator  would."  Here  was 
the  confession  of  the  author  of  the  bill  himself 
that  the  preamble  was  not  an  explicit  pledge  that 
the  Philippines  should  be  given  their  independ- 
ence. 

Interest  was  aroused  by  this  revelation.  Ameri- 
can sentiment  in  favor  of  Philippine  independence 
has  always  been  widespread,  but  was  and  is  still 
rather  dormant,  due  to  the  lack  of  interest  on  the 
part  of  most  citizens  in  Philippine  affairs,  to  the 
great  distances  that  separate  them  from  the  Islands, 
and  to  the  impression  created  among  them  by  the 
retentionists  that  the  Filipinos  needed  generations 
of  training  and  trusteeship  before  the  question  of  in- 
dependence could  be  wisely  discussed.  This  dor- 
mant sentiment  was  now  for  the  first  time  beginning 
to  take  definite  forms.  Again  the  question  was 
raised  by  Democratic  senators  whether  the  pre- 
amble of  the  bill  really  carried  out  the  platform 
pledge  of  the  Democratic  party.  Would  a  measure 
which  merely  made  the  Philippine  Government 
more  liberal  and  which,  according  to  the  statement 
of  the  author  himself,  might  or  might  not  lead  to  the 
granting  of  Philippine  independence,  be  really  in 
accord  with  Democratic  platforms  and  promises? 
Was  it  not  in  effect  a  further  evasion  of  the  ques- 
tion of  independence?    Sentiment  in  favor  of  a 


THE  CLARKE  AMENDMENT  223 

more  definite  statement  of  policy  thereupon  in- 
creased in  the  Senate.  Taking  advantage  of  this 
trend  of  feeling,  Senator  Clarke  of  Arkansas,  on 
January  12,  1916,  made  it  known  that  he  would  in- 
troduce an  amendment  which  would  grant  the  Fili- 
pinos their  independence  in  two  years,  would  in- 
struct the  President  to  negotiate  neutralization 
treaties  with  as  many  nations  as  were  willing  to 
sign  such  agreements,  and  would  make  the  United 
States  the  sole  guarantor  of  such  independence  in 
case  no  nation  was  willing  to  join  as  a  signatory. 
The  President  was  reported  to  be  opposed  to  this 
amendment  on  the  ground  that  a  definite  and  irre- 
vocable date  when  independence  should  be  granted 
was  a  most  unwise  provision  because  nobody  knew 
in  what  situation  the  United  States  would  find  it- 
self at  any  particular  time.  When  Senator  Clarke 
learned  of  the  objection  of  the  President  to  the  es- 
tablishment of  a  definite  fixed  date,  he  modified  his 
amendment  so  as  to  make  the  granting  of  independ- 
ence effective  in  not  less  than  two  and  not  more 
than  four  years,  with  a  further  provision  to  the 
effect  that  the  President  might  extend  the  time  to 
one  year  more  and  might  again  submit  the  subject 
to  Congress.  The  President,  thereupon,  withdrew 
his  objection.  Mr.  Clarke  further  perfected  his 
amendment  and,  when  finally  passed,  it  had  taken 
shape  as  follows: 


224     THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

The  President  is  hereby  authorized  and  directed  to 
withdraw  and  surrender  all  right  of  possession,  super- 
vision, jurisdiction,  control,  or  sovereignty  now  existing 
and  exercised  by  the  United  States  in  and  over  the  ter- 
ritory and  people  of  the  Philippines,  and  he  shall  on  be- 
half of  the  United  States  fully  recognize  the  independ- 
ence of  the  said  Philippines  as  a  separate  and  self- 
governing  nation  and  acknowledge  the  authority  and 
control  over  the  same  of  the  government  instituted  by 
the  people  thereof,  and  full  power  to  take  the  several 
steps  necessary  to  institute  such  government  is  hereby 
conferred  upon  the  said  Philippines  acting  by  and 
through  governmental  agencies  created  by  this  Act. 
This  transfer  of  possession,  sovereignty,  and  governmen- 
tal control  shall  be  completed  and  become  absolute  not 
less  than  two  years  nor  more  than  four  years  from  the 
date  of  the  approval  of  this  Act,  under  the  terms  and  in 
the  manner  hereinafter  prescribed:  Provided,  That  if 
the  President,  prior  to  the  expiration  of  the  said  period 
of  four  years,  shall  find  that  the  condition  of  the  inter- 
nal or  external  affairs  of  said  Philippines  in  respect  to 
the  stability  or  efficiency  of  the  proposed  government 
thereof  is  such  as  to  warrant  him  in  so  doing,  he  is 
hereby  further  authorized,  by  proclamation  duly  made 
and  published,  to  extend  the  said  time  to  and  including 
the  date  of  the  final  adjournment  of  the  session  of  Con- 
gress which  shall  convene  next  after  the  date  of  the  ex- 
piration of  the  said  period  of  four  years,  and  thus  afford 
the  Congress  an  opportunity  in  its  discretion  to  further 
consider  the  situation  in  the  said  Philippines;  but  any 
such  extension  of  time  by  the  President  shall  not  otherwise 
suspend  or  nullify  the  operative  force  of  this  Act,  unless 


THE  CLARKE  AMENDMENT  225 

the  Congress  shall  hereafter  so  direct.  For  the  purpose 
of  a  complete  and  prompt  compliance  with  this  direction, 
the  President  is  hereby  invested  with  full  power  and 
authority  to  make  such  orders  and  regulations  and  to 
enter  into  such  negotiations  with  the  authorities  of  said 
Philippines  or  others  as  may  be  necessary  to  finally  set- 
tle and  adjust  all  property  rights  and  other  relations 
as  between  the  United  States  and  the  said  Philippines, 
and  to  cause  to  be  acknowledged,  respected,  and  safe- 
guarded all  of  the  personal  and  property  rights  of  citi- 
zens or  corporations  of  the  United  States  and  of  other 
countries  resident  or  engaged  in  business  in  said  Philip- 
pines or  having  property  interests  therein.  In  any  such 
settlement  or  adjustment  so  made  in  respect  to  the  rights 
and  property  of  the  United  States  as  against  the  said 
Philippines  the  President  may  reserve  or  acquire  such 
lands  and  rights  and  privileges  appurtenant  thereto  as 
may,  in  his  judgment,  be  required  by  the  United  States 
for  naval  bases  and  coaling  stations  within  the  territory 
of  said  Philippines. 

Upon  the  motion  of  Senator  Kenyon  of  Iowa 
(Republican)  the  following  guarantee  and  neutral- 
ization provisions  had  been  stricken  out: 

Immediately  upon  the  passage  of  the  Act,  the  Presi- 
dent shall  invite  the  cooperation  of  the  principal  nations 
interested  in  the  affairs  of  that  part  of  the  world  in 
v/hich  the  Philippines  are  located,  in  the  form  of  a  treaty 
or  other  character  of  binding  agreement,  whereby  the  co- 
operating nations  shall  mutually  pledge  themselves  to 
recognize  and  respect  the  sovereignty  and  independence 
of  the  said  Philippines,  and  also  to  mutually  obligate 


226      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

themselves,  equally  and  not  one  primarily  nor  to  any 
greater  extent  than  another,  to  maintain  as  against  ex- 
ternal force  the  sovereignty  of  said  Philippines.  If  any 
of  the  nations  so  invited  to  join  the  United  States  in  such 
undertaking  shall  decline  to  do  so,  then  the  President 
shall  include  as  parties  to  such  convention  or  agreement 
such  nations  as  may  be  willing  to  join  therein  and  to  as- 
sume such  obligations;  and  if  none  are  willing  to  so 
unite  therein,  then  the  President  is  authorized  to  give 
such  guaranty  on  behalf  of  the  United  States  alone  for 
the  period  of  five  years  from  and  after  the  expiration  of 
said  period  of  four  years,  or  any  extension  thereof,  and 
pending  the  existence  of  such  separate  guaranty  by  the 
United  States,  the  United  States  shall  be  entitled  to  re- 
tain and  exercise  such  control  and  supervision  in  the 
said  Philippines  as  may  be  necessary  to  enforce  order 
therein  and  to  avoid  external  complications. 

The  Clarke  Amendment  was  adopted  in  the  Com- 
mittee of  the  Whole  House  of  the  Senate  by  a  vote 
of  forty  one  to  forty  one,  Vice-President  Marshall 
casting  his  deciding  vote  affirmatively.  The  final 
vote  on  the  bill  as  amended  was  taken  on  February 
4,  1916,  fifty-two  ayes  and  twenty-four  nays,  the 
Democrats  solidly  voting  for  it  while  six  Republi- 
cans joined  with  them.     The  result  was  as  follows : 


YEAS  — 52 

Ashurst 

Broussard 

Clarke,  Ark, 

Bankhead 

Bryan 

Fletcher 

Beckham 

Chilton 

Hardwick 

Borah 

Clapp 

Hitchcock 

THE  CLAiRKE  AMENDMENT 


227 


Hollis 

Newlands 

Simmons 

Hughes 

Norris 

Smith,  Ariz. 

Husting 

0  'Gorman 

Smith,  Ga. 

James 

Overman 

Smith,  S.  C. 

Johnson,  Me. 

Pittman 

Stone 

Johnson,  S.  Dak. 

Pomerene 

Swanson 

Kenyon 

Eansdell 

Thomas 

Kern 

Reed 

Thompson 

La  FoUette 

Eobinson 

Tillman 

Lea,  Tenn. 

Saulsbury 

Vardaman 

Lee,  Md. 

Shafroth 

Walsh 

Lewis 

Sheppard 

Williams 

Martin,  Va. 

Shields 

Works 

Myers 

NAYS  — 24 

Brandegee 

Harding 

Poindexter 

Clark,  Wyo. 

Jones 

Smith,  Mich. 

Colt 

Lippitt 

Smoot 

Cummins 

Lodge 

Sterling 

Curtis 

McCumber 

Sutherland 

Dillingham   ' 

McLean 

Townsend 

Gallinger 

Nelson 

Wadsworth 

Gronna 

Page 

Warren 

The  action  of  the  Senate  was  the  most  decisive 
step  taken  by  either  branch  of  the  American  Con- 
gress toward  the  granting  of  Philippine  independ- 
ence. A  year  earlier  such  a  result  would  have 
seemed  almost  impossible  of  attainment.  The  fac- 
tors that  contributed  to  the  decisive  advance  were, 
of  course,  many  and  varied.     Constant  Filipino 


228      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

petitions  and  resolutions  urging  independence,  to- 
gether with  the  insistent  agitation  carried  on  by 
the  Filipino  representatives  in  America,  have  been 
a  potent  factor  in  bringing  about  the  result.  When 
it  was  learned  that  the  Clarke  Amendment  was 
being  seriously  considered  in  the  Senate,  the  Phil- 
ippine Assembly  immediately  and  unanimously 
passed  a  resolution  of  unqualified  endorsement 
which  was  cabled  that  same  day  to  Washington 
and  personally  handed  to  Senator  Clarke  by  Com- 
missioner Quezon.  The  resolution  read  as  fol- 
lows: 

Whereas,  the  Clarke  Amendment  to  the  Philippine 
Bill  now  pending  before  the  Senate  of  the  United  States 
specifies  the  conditions  under  which  independence  shall 
be  granted  to  the  people  of  the  Philippine  Islands,  expe- 
dites the  granting  of  that  independence,  and  safeguards 
the  internal  and  external  affairs  of  the  said  Islands 
pending  the  granting  of  said  independence ; 

Whereas,  said  amendment  makes  the  independence 
provision  of  the  preamble  more  clear,  explicit,  unequivo- 
cal, and  expeditious,  and  fixes  the  responsibilities  which 
the  people  of  the  United  States  and  the  people  of  the 
Philippine  Islands  shall  respectively  assume  before  and 
after  the  granting  of  said  independence : 

Therefore,  resolved  that  the  Philippine  Assembly 
should  recommend,  as  it  does  hereby  respectfully  recom- 
mend, the  passage  of  said  amendment  by  the  Congress 
and  the  President  of  the  United  States. 


THE  CLARKE  AMENDMENT  229 

Another  encouraging  sign  disclosed  during  the 
debate  in  the  Senate  was  the  kindlier  appreciation 
of  Filipino  life  and  civilization  manifested  by  the 
senators.  Indeed,  if  we  are  to  judge  the  advance 
of  the  Filipinos  from  the  representations  made  in 
the  Senate  and  the  pictures  represented  fifteen 
years  ago,  they  must  indeed  have  effected  a  wonder- 
ful transformation.  We  have  seen  how,  when  the 
Philippine  Organic  Act  was  under  discussion  four- 
teen years  ago,  prominent  members  likened  the  Fili- 
pinos to  pirates  and  savages  incapable  of  civiliza- 
tion. The  man  most  responsible  for  this  changed 
attitude  of  the  Senate  was  perhaps  Senator  Shaf- 
roth  whose  recent  visit  to  the  Islands  enabled  him 
to  present  to  the  Senate  first-hand  information  of 
conditions  there,  and  whose  observations  proved  of 
great  interest  to  his  colleagues.     He  said : 

Some  people  who  are  opposed  to  Philippine  independ- 
ence often  refer  to  photographs  of  natives  in  a  seminude 
condition  as  examples  of  Philippine  civilization  and  ask 
if  such  beings  are  capable  of  self-government.  Such 
pictures  are  exceptional  and  are  usually  of  what  are 
termed  the  uncivilized  inhabitants,  which  in  population 
bear  no  greater  proportion  to  the  Christian  Filipinos 
than  the  American  Indians  did  to  the  people  of  the  Colo- 
nies at  the  time  of  the  Revolutionary  War.  .  .  . 

The  Philippine  people  are  capable  of  self-government 
because  they  have  a  deep  interest  in  their  country  and 


230      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

great  love  for  her  and  possess  a  large  highly  educated 
class,  thoroughly  identified  with  the  best  interests  of  the 
Islands,  who  under  the  educational  qualification  now 
prescribed  by  law  will  be  elected  to  legislate  and  admin- 
ister the  affairs  of  government. 

The  Filipino  people  are  not  nomadic.  They  do  not 
live  in  tents  or  caves  and  rove  for  their  subsistence ;  they 
live  in  houses  and  have  farms  which  they  cultivate. 
They  own  nearly  all  the  real  estate  of  the  Islands ;  only 
6  per  cent,  are  renters.  They  love  their  homes.  Their 
children  are  a  pleasure  to  them,  and  the  devotion  of  chil- 
dren to  their  parents  continues  through  life.  They  are 
generous  to  their  relatives;  they  will  share  with  them 
their  household  and  divide  with  them  the  last  morsel  of 
their  food.  Pauperism  is  almost  unknown.  According 
to  the  last  census  only  1,668  paupers  were  a  public 
charge.  They  are  honest,  industrious,  and  moral. 
Such  men  if  left  alone  are  sure  to  work  out  a  splendid 
destiny  for  their  country. 

The  interest  of  the  Filipinos,  however,  was  by  no 
means  the  predominating  factor  in  the  growth  of  the 
independence  sentiment  in  the  Senate,  although  it 
is  safe  to  say  that  the  Clarke  Amendment  would 
not  have  passed  that  body  except  with  the  support 
of  the  Filipino  people.  The  national  interest  of  the 
United  States  was  undoubtedly  the  main  considera- 
tion of  a  great  many  senators.  Never  before  has 
the  tremendous  expense  of  the  Philippines  to  the 
American  treasury  been  fully  realized  by  the  Ameri- 
can nation.     Estimate  of  the  cost  of  Philippine  re- 


THE  CLARKE  AMENDMENT  231 

tention  ranged  from  $20,000,000  to  $40,000,000  a 
year.  Commercial  profit  derived  by  American 
merchants  was  also  shown  to  be  utterly  insignifi- 
cant beside  the  tremendous  expense  incurred  by  the 
Government.  Senator  Shafroth  figured  that  the 
profit  to  American  commerce  does  not  exceed  two 
and  one-half  million  dollars  a  year.  Granting,  he 
said,  that  this  amount  might,  within  a  short  time, 
be  doubled  or  trebled,  it  could  not  exceed  ten  mil- 
lion dollars  while  the  cost  to  the  Government  was 
never  below  twenty  million  dollars.^ 

Connected  with  the  unprofitable  nature  of  Philip- 
pine colonization  was  the  military  weakness  and 
danger  to  which  America  was  constantly  exposed 
through  the  retention  of  the  Philippines.  Since  the 
beginning  of  the  present  European  War,  the  Ameri- 
can people  have  realized  this  danger  more  than 
ever.  Ex-President  Roosevelt,  in  January,  1915, 
gave  this  warning: 

The  Philippines  from  a  military  standpoint  are  a 
source  of  weakness  to  us.  The  present  administration 
has  promised  explicitly  to  let  them  go,  and  by  its  actions 
has  rendered  it  difficult  to  hold  them  against  any  serious 
foreign  foe.  These  being  the  circumstances,  the  Islands 
should  at  an  early  moment  be  given  their  independence 
without  any  guarantee  whatever  by  us  and  without  our 
retaining  any  foothold  in  them. 

1  Congressional  Record,  January  8,  1916,  page  843. 


232      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

This  same  feeling  was  voiced  by  many  senators 
during  the  debate.  "  Before  this  nation  can  enter 
upon  an  era  of  preparedness  of  the  United  States," 
said  Senator  Lewis,  "  there  must  first  be  determined 
what  are  the  limits  of  your  nation,  what  country 
have  you  to  prepare  for,  what  particular  part  of 
your  country  is  now  to  be  excluded  from  the  ex- 
pense and  obligations  of  preparation."  It  has  be- 
come a  foregone  conclusion  among  Americans  that 
the  Philippines  cannot  and  should  not  be  defended, 
that  in  case  of  a  war  it  would  be  foolhardiness  to 
attempt  to  check  the  landing  of  an  invading  army 
in  the  Islands,  and  that,  therefore,  they  should  be 
excluded  from  such  a  program  of  preparation. 
The  money  expended  yearly  as  a  result  of  American 
occupation  of  the  Philippines  should  be  diverted  to 
the  military  preparation  of  the  United  States  and 
its  nearby  territories.  Senator  Lewis  estimated 
that  in  ten  years  more  of  American  occupation,  the 
American  people  would  have  expended  for  the  Phil- 
ippines 1250,000,000.  "Then,"  he  added,  "by  re- 
leasing the  burden  of  the  Philippines,  we  save  the 
full  sum  that  is  essential  for  the  completest  navy 
that  has  been  suggested  for  our  immediate  and 
modern  necessities."  Economy  and  safety  first 
have  unquestionably  been  the  deciding  considera- 
tions in  bringing  about  the  result  of  the  Philippine 
vote  in  the  Senate. 


THE  CLARKE  AMENDMENT  233 

But  it  was  not  alone  the  safety  of  America  that 
demanded  separation  from  the  Philippines.  Some 
senators  at  least  believed  that  the  Philippines  were 
themselves  running  grave  danger  through  their 
union  with  America.  "  While  the  possession  of  the 
Philippines  by  the  United  States  imperils  the 
United  States,"  said  Senator  Clapp,  "  it  is  equally 
true  that  so  long  as  the  Philippines  are  a  part  of  our 
possessions,  that  fact  imperils  the  Philippine 
Islands.  The  very  history  of  those  islands  proves 
that  they  would  not  have  been  touched  by  the 
American  Government  had  they  not  been  a  part  of 
the  possessions  of  Spain."  "The  security  of  the 
Islands  from  attacks,"  added  Senator  Robinson, 
"  may  depend  upon  the  relinquishment  of  control 
by  the  United  States  rather  than  the  retention  of 
them  by  the  United  States." 

In  contrast  with  all  the  Philippine  measures  that 
have  hitherto  passed  any  branch  of  Congress,  the 
Senate  Philippine  Bill  offers  a  final  solution  to  the 
Philippine  problem.  It  proposes  to  grant  the  Fili- 
pinos their  independence  not  in  some  vague  and 
distant  future  when  those  who  have  made  the  prom- 
ise shall  have  been  dead,  but  within  four  years,  al- 
lowing merely  for  the  time  properly  to  transfer  the 
government  to  the  people.  It  is  a  decisive  answer 
to  those  who  have  always  ridiculed  the  idea  of 
Philippine  self-government  and  independence.     It 


234      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

now  remains  for  the  House  of  Representatives  to 
complete  the  step  and  convert  the  measure  into  law. 
In  the  opinion  of  many  senators,  a  mere  declaration 
of  an  independence  policy  as  contained  in  Mr. 
Hitchcock's  bill  settled  nothing  and  would  only 
give  the  Filipinos  encouragement  for  further,  per- 
haps fruitless  and  dangerous,  agitation  for  inde- 
pendence. It  held  out  a  promise  which,  they 
claimed,  could  not  be  fulfilled.  Consequently,  a 
fixed  and  definite  date  for  independence  would  be 
far  preferable  to  such  a  declaration.  "  I  cannot 
conceive  of  a  more  mischievous  declaration,"  said 
Senator  Sutherland,  "  because,  as  we  all  know,  in 
a  very  short  time  the  people  of  the  Islands  who  de- 
sire independence  will  be  declaring  that  it  is  for  the 
permanent  interest  of  the  people  to  have  inde- 
pendence, and,  if  Congress  is  not  prepared  to  agree 
with  them,  that  means  disappointment,  ill-feeling, 
and,  very  likely,  insurrection."  "  It  seems  to  me," 
said  Senator  Lippitt,  "  that  there  are  just  two  posi- 
tions that  can  be  taken  by  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States;  one  is  to  give  these  people  their  independ- 
ence now  and  the  other  is  to  say  nothing  about 
the  question  of  their  independence.  .  .  .  We  have 
not  the  power  to  promise  the  Philippine  people  that 
some  succeeding  Senate  will  grant  them  their  inde- 
pendence. It  seems  to  me  it  is  a  very  unwise  posi- 
tion for  us  to  put  ourselves  in  an  attempt  to  promise 


THE  CLARKE  AMENDMENT  235 

something  that  we  have  not  the  power  to  carry  out. 
It  is  deceiving  the  Filipino  people  into  believing 
that  they  have  an  assurance  when  they  do  not  have 
it."  "  We  ought  to  adopt  the  amendment  which  the 
Senator  from  Arkansas  (Mr.  Clarke)  has  sub- 
mitted," said  Senator  Borah,  "  or  we  ought  to  elim- 
inate, once  for  all,  all  discussion  of  independence." 
"  If  we  are  to  go,"  said  Senator  Lodge,  "  we  ought 
to  go;  and  if  we  are  to  stay  we  ought  to  stay  and 
keep  the  power."  He  opposed  the  legislative  pro- 
visions of  Mr.  Hitchcock's  bill  for  it  "  simply  weak- 
ens the  control  which  we  ought  to  have  if  we  are  to 
be  responsible  for  the  Islands  in  any  measure." 
Ex-Senator  Root  has  expressed  the  belief  that,  in- 
asmuch as  the  Philippine  question  would  seem  to  be 
ever  under  the  harmful  influence  of  American  poli- 
tics, the  American  people  "  had  better  give  the 
Islands  their  independence  promptly;  not  promise 
it  in  the  future  but  give  notice  of  an  election  and 
turn  it  over  as  we  did  with  Cuba." 

The  position  of  the  senators  quoted  above  would 
seem  to  insure,  whether  they  wanted  it  or  not,  the 
most  speedy  enactment  of  the  Independence  Bill. 
To  them  there  are  only  two  solutions  to  the  Philip- 
pine problem:  either  promptly  to  grant  independ- 
ence or  to  cease  all  talk  of  independence.  Now 
suppose  we  take  the  alternative  —  to  cease  all  talk 
of  independence.     To  do  this  the  Filipinos   will 


236     THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

have  to  unlearn  all  the  political  education  they 
have  had  under  America.  The  whole  American  ex- 
periment in  government  must  be  recommenced.  It 
will  be  necessary  to  stamp  as  forbidden  fruit  the 
best  that  is  in  American  life  and  institutions  — 
the  Anglo-Saxon  love  of  freedom  and  independence. 
It  will  be  unavoidable  to  write  anew  for  the  Fili- 
pinos the  history  of  America.  For,  as  Senator 
Clapp  very  eloquently  put  it,  "the  moment  we 
reached  the  Islands  we  carried  to  those  people  the 
American  history  and  the  American  schoolbook  — 
the  American  history  replete  with  the  traditions  of 
freedom  and  of  independence;  and  American  his- 
tory fails  in  its  mission  to  teach  its  lesson,  if  seven- 
teen years  of  study  would  not  develop  in  the  minds 
of  any  people  a  desire  for  independence  and  a  de- 
sire for  freedom."  The  books  and  papers  printed 
in  the  Islands,  few  pages  of  which  are  without  a 
reference  to  independence,  would  have  to  be  de- 
stroyed and  the  names  of  President  Taft,  President 
Roosevelt,  and  the  other  American  statesmen  who 
have  held  out  hopes  of  independence,  buried.  And, 
after  all  traces  of  independence  agitation  in  the 
past  had  been  wiped  out,  the  people  would  have  to 
be  deprived  of  their  rights  of  the  press  and  of  speech 
and  a  sentinel  placed  at  every  Filipino  home  lest 
the  most  cordial  family  reunion  breed  dangerous 
independence  germs!     No  sane  person  could  be- 


THE  CLARKE  AMENDMENT  237 

lieve  that  America  will  ever  tolerate  such  a  travesty 
of  her  life  and  ideals ! 

The  Filipino  people  received  the  Senate  vote  with 
genuine  enthusiasm  and  relief.  They  welcome  the 
definite  and  unequivocal  action  contemplated  by 
the  Senate  Bill.  Nothing  is  as  hurtful  as  uncer- 
tainty. For  sixteen  years  they  have  been  left  at 
sea  as  to  America's  real  intention  towards  them. 
For  years  they  had  kept  on  petitioning  Congress  for 
a  definite  statement  of  policy,  but  on  each  occasion 
the  issue  had  been  evaded.  Every  device  had  been 
employed  to  avoid  making  known  America's  pur- 
pose towards  them  in  any  final  or  authoritative 
way.  When  the  ratification  of  the  Treaty  of  Paris 
was  being  discussed  in  the  Senate,  a  declaration  of 
purpose  was  refused  by  many  legislators  because 
such  action  would  be  "  giving  bonds  to  Spain  "  on 
a  matter  that  was  "  wholly  their  own  to  decide  " 
and  not  Europe's.  After  the  ratification  of  the 
treaty,  attempts  were  again  made,  as  we  have  seen, 
to  secure  a  declaration  of  purpose.  Unfortunately 
the  Filipino-American  War  had  broken  out  and  this 
afforded  a  new  excuse  for  the  retentionists.  "  We 
will  not  tell  the  Filipinos  what  we  want  to  do  with 
them  until  they  lay  down  their  arms,"  was  the  ar- 
gument they  then  advanced.  When  peace  was  re- 
stored and  Congress  took  up  the  question  of  estab- 
lishing civil  government,   further   attempts   were 


238      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

made  to  bring  about  the  declaration  of  a  definite 
policy,  but  to  no  avail.  The  government  that  was 
ultimately  established  was  declared  to  be  merely 
temporary  and  this  is  the  same  government  that 
the  Islands  now  have.  It  has  been  temporarily  im- 
posed upon  them  for  fourteen  years.  They  wel- 
comed with  spontaneous  unanimity  Mr.  Jones' 
first  bill  introduced  in  1912  providing  for  inde- 
pendence in  1921,  but  they  were  made  to  under- 
stand that  that  bill  could  not  be  passed,  that  the 
President  was  opposed  to  a  definitely  fixed  date. 
They  were  then  offered  a  bill  without  fixed  date 
but  with  the  formal  and  authoritative  statement 
that  independence  should  be  granted  when  a  stable 
government  could  be  established  in  the  Islands. 
They  accepted  this  as  a  first  step  in  the  right  direc- 
tion. They  wanted  to  obtain  legislative  sanction 
for  the  administrative  reforms  of  President  Wil- 
son and  to  have  the  United  States  formally  go  on 
record  for  an  independence  policy.  They  wanted  to 
be  in  a  position  to  carry  forward  with  greater  vigor 
their  independence  propaganda.  They  wanted  to 
have  an  understanding  of  some  kind  with  the  Ameri- 
can people  on  which  they  might  build  a  more  cordial 
relationship.  It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  Ameri- 
can sovereignty  in  the  Islands  is  still  based  on  force 
and  not  upon  the  sanction  or  even  acquiescence  of 
the  Filipino  people.     The  Filipinos  are  still  ruled 


THE  CLARKE  AMENDMENT  239 

by  virtue  of  the  Treaty  of  Paris  which  was  made  in 
utter  disregard  of  their  interests  and  against  their 
earnest  protest.  That  treaty  still  stands  to  them 
in  lieu  of  Magna  Charta,  the  only  source  of  their 
Bill  of  Rights  and  their  Constitution.  They  have 
never  since,  of  their  own  free  will,  recognized  or 
acquiesced  in  American  sovereignty ;  they  still  con- 
sider themselves  unjustly  deprived  of  their  right 
to  manage  their  own  affairs  and  to  lead  an  inde- 
pendent existence.  The  present  Organic  Act  of  the 
Philippines  was  passed  unasked  for  by  the  Fili- 
pinos. They  have  not  for  a  moment  renounced 
their  idea  of  national  independence,  and  when  the 
first  Philippine  Assembly  met,  it  made  the  solemn 
declaration  that  American  rule  in  the  Philippines 
remained  unsanctioned  by  the  people  whose  greatest 
desire,  then  as  ever,  was  their  complete  political 
emancipation.  Political  parties  in  the  Philippines 
are  founded  primarily  on  programs  for  national  in- 
dependence. No  group  of  Filipinos  has  ever  ex- 
pressed its  assent  to,  or  sanction  of,  American 
sovereignty. 

No  true  political  progress  can  exist  in  the  Phil- 
ippines under  such  anomalous  conditions.  The  one 
great  sine  qua  non  of  political  stability  is  respect 
for  the  law  brought  about,  not  by  force,  but  by  the 
acquiescence  of  the  people  in  the  State  that  pro- 
mulgates the  law.    No  people  can  have  a  genuine 


240      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

respect  for  the  will  of  the  State  who  have  not  will- 
ingly become  a  part  of  that  State.  In  the  long  run, 
the  government  imposed  under  such  circumstances 
will  work  evil.  Its  very  existence  is  a  hindrance  to 
the  natural  development  of  the  people.  It  may  be 
the  most  benevolent  of  foreign  governments,  it  may 
build  schools,  roads  and  public  buildings,  but  while 
it  remains  an  alien  government  unsanctioned  by  the 
national  conscience,  it  will  fail  to  secure  genuine 
respect  for  its  laws  and  mandates. 

Elsewhere  in  this  volume  the  publicity  campaign 
of  the  retentionists  has  been  dealt  with  at  length. 
There  we  saw  that  as  a  result  of  the  policy  of  in- 
definite retention,  the  opponents  of  independence, 
in  order  to  reconcile  the  American  people  to  the 
idea  of  permanent  annexation,  have  carried  on  a 
most  vigorous  campaign  of  misinformation,  paint- 
ing the  Filipinos  in  their  worst  colors,  ridiculing 
their  customs  and  characteristics,  and  exhibiting 
every  political  mistake  that  they  may  make  as  a 
sign  of  utter  incapacity.  What  effect  has  this  cam- 
paign on  the  Filipino  body  politic?  Humiliated 
by  such  tactics,  hurt  in  their  most  sensitive  feeling 
of  national  pride,  they  have  naturally  assumed  an 
attitude  of  self-defense.  They  have  become  guarded 
in  all  their  manifestations  as  to  their  own  short- 
comings and  habitually  refer  only  to  what  is  cred- 
itable in  their  civilization.     Every  spirit  of  self- 


THE  CLARKE  AMENDMENT  241 

criticism  has  been  buried.  Reformers  have  ceased 
to  write  of  conditions  that  should  be  improved,  un- 
desirable habits  that  should  be  changed,  antiquated 
ideas  that  should  be  modernized,  and  superstitions 
that  should  be  wiped  out.  Who  can  deny  that  such 
conditions  calling  for  improvement  exist  in  the 
Philippines  as  they  exist  in  every  country?  But 
because  of  the  publicity  campaign  carried  on  in 
America  by  those  who  are  ready  to  take  advantage 
of  any  incident  or  utterance  that  may  be  used  to 
advantage  in  representing  the  Filipinos  to  the 
American  people  as  something  akin  to  savages,  a 
unanimous  movement  has  been  developed  to  cover 
up  their  national  defects.  Thus  a  great  force 
for  social  progress  —  self-criticism  —  has  been  de- 
barred from  exerting  its  influence. 

To  remedy  the  whole  situation  the  Filipinos  were 
willing  to  accept  for  the  time  being,  as  a  compro- 
mise measure,  a  bill  which  would  formally  recognize 
their  right  to  independence  and  which  would  give 
them  the  governmental  powers  by  the  use  of  which 
they  could  demonstrate  their  capacity  for  self-gov- 
ernment. They  knew  that  they  would  be  equal  to 
the  task  and  that  then  the  American  people  would 
be  obliged  to  give  them  their  complete  freedom. 
The  bill,  however,  while  it  was  adopted  by  the 
House  of  Representatives,  failed  to  pass  in  the 
Senate.     This  was  a  great  disappointment  to  the 


242      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

Filipino  people.  It  was  with  great  difficulty  that 
the  Filipino  political  leaders  succeeded  in  allaying 
their  fears  and  in  reviving  their  confidence  in  the 
ultimate  triumph  of  their  peaceful  endeavors. 
They  were  promised  by  the  Democratic  leaders  that 
the  Sixty-fourth  Congress  would  do  them  complete 
justice.  President  Wilson's  attitude  toward  them 
inspired  them  with  renewed  hope.  His  entire  for- 
eign policy  had  been  that  of  continuous  and  con- 
sistent repudiation  of  imperialism.  He  refused  to 
intervene  in  Mexico  in  spite  of  the  urgent  demands 
made  upon  him  by  large  American  interests  for 
such  an  action.  He  asserted  that  every  people  has 
a  right  to  debate  and  adjust  its  own  internal  affairs 
as  best  it  can.  He  had  denounced  the  imperialistic 
impulses  that  the  American  people  have  suffered 
from  in  the  past.  "  If  we  have  had  aggressive  pur- 
poses and  covetous  ambition,"  he  said,  in  his  ad- 
dress in  November,  1915,  "  they  were  the  fruit  of 
our  thoughtless  youth  as  a  nation  and  we  have  put 
them  aside.  We  shall,  I  confidently  believe,  never 
again  take  another  foot  of  territory  by  conquest." 
It  is  now  a  great  relief  for  the  Filipinos  to  find 
that  at  last  a  branch  of  the  American  Congress  has 
realized  that  continuation  of  the  present  Philippine 
situation  is  extremely  dangerous  and  unwise;  that 
uncertainty  and  continuous  political  agitation  for 
independence  on  the  part  of  the  Filipinos  will  only 


THE  CLARKE  AMENDMENT  243 

widen  the  gulf  between  them  and  the  Americans 
and  retard  the  internal  development  of  the  coun- 
try; and  that  the  only  policy  that  can  be  wisely 
pursued  is  promptly  to  give  the  Filipinos  their  in- 
dependence. But  the  unfortunate  element  in  the 
legislative  situation  is  that  the  choice  lies  between 
the  Philippine  Bill  literally  as  it  passed  the  Sen- 
ate and  perhaps  no  independence  at  all.  The  Phil- 
ippine Bill  as  amended  was  passed  over  the  head 
of  the  Chairman  of  the  Senate  Committee  on  the 
Philippines  and  any  change  in  it  which  will  require 
a  conference  between  the  two  Houses  may  endanger 
its  final  passage.  It  is  in  effect  a  conglomeration 
of  contradictory  provisions.  As  reported  by  Sen- 
ator Hitchcock,  it  may  be  said  to  be  a  measure  giv- 
ing the  Filipinos  a  restricted  autonomy  to  try  to 
what  extent  is  their  capacity  for  self-government. 
Their  hands  and  actions  are,  to  a  great  extent,  to  be 
tied.  Certain  work  such  as  sanitation,  education, 
and  the  care  of  the  "  wild  people,"  is  to  be  presuma- 
bly under  the  control  of  an  American  Vice-Gov- 
ernor,  who  is  to  be  appointed  by  the  President  and 
is  to  hold  the  portfolio  of  Secretary  of  Public  In- 
struction. The  Director  of  Civil  Service  is  also  to 
be  appointed  by  the  President.  The  indebtedness  of 
the  Government  is  to  be  limited  to  seventeen  million 
dollars.  Some  laws  cannot  take  effect  without  the 
sanction  of  the  President.    The  salaries  of  the  jus- 


244     THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

tices  of  the  Supreme  Court  are  fixed  and  cannot 
be  changed  by  the  Philippine  Legislature.  On  the 
floor  of  the  Senate  another  provision  which  would 
embarrass  the  Philippine  Government  was  adopted 
in  the  amendment  offered  by  Senator  Gronna  pro- 
hibiting the  sale  or  manufacture  of  alcoholic  drinks 
and  penalizing  such  sale  or  manufacture.  This 
amendment  was  uncalled  for  since  the  Filipinos  are 
a  very  temperate  people,  while  the  proposal  would 
take  from  the  revenues  of  the  Philippine  Govern- 
ment about  a  million  pesos  every  year.  In  addition 
to  all  these  restrictions  is  included  a  provision 
which  would  make  the  Philippines  independent 
within  four  years.  How  many  difficulties  the  Fili- 
pinos must  meet  in  actually  preparing  their  coun- 
try for  independence  within  so  brief  a  period  of 
transition ! 

Yet,  despite  all  these  handicaps  and  restrictions 
and  with  all  the  impending  dangers  that  beset  the 
life  of  a  small  nation  in  a  turbulent  world,  the 
Filipino  people  earnestly  hope  and  pray  for  the 
earliest  conversion  into  law  of  the  Senate  Philip- 
pine Bill.  Nothing  short  of  such  a  measure  will 
fully  satisfy  them.  Let  not  this  feeling  be  taken  as 
a  sign  of  ingratitude  for  all  America  has  done  for 
the  Islands. 

Once  this  act  of  justice  is  accomplished  and 
the  Philippine  Republic  is  admitted  in  the  family 


THE  CLARKE  AMENDMENT  245 

of  nations,  she  will  be  in  a  position  to  show 
her  boundless  gratitude  to  America.  There  are 
no  honorable  privileges  and  concessions  that  she 
would  not  be  willing  to  give.  She  would  be  only 
too  glad  to  have  the  guidance  of  America's  advice 
and  maturer  experience.  She  would  continue  to 
develop  the  splendid  institutions  built  by  pioneer 
Americans  in  the  Islands.  She  would  continue 
educating  her  sons  in  the  English  tongue  for  it  is 
by  the  peoples  using  that  vehicle  of  expression  that 
the  happiest  commonwealths  have  been  built.  She 
would  then  be  able  to  entertain  the  truest  friendship 
for  America ;  for  only  on  the  basis  of  freedom  and 
equality  can  true  friendship  exist. 


APPENDICES 


APPENDIX  A 

TREATY  OF  PEACE  BETWEEN  THE 
UNITED  STATES  AND  SPAIN 

[Senate  Document  No.  62,  part  1,  Fifty-fifth  Congress,  third 
session.  Message  from  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
transmitting  a  treaty  of  peace  between  the  United  States 
and  Spain,  signed  at  the  city  of  Paris  on  Deeemt)er  10,  1898. 
January  4.  1899. —  Read;  treaty  read  the  first  time  and  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Foreign  Relations,  and,  tt^ether 
with  the  messjige  and  accompanying  papers,  ordered  to  be 
printed  in  confidence  for  the  use  of  the  Senate.  January 
11,  1899. —  Injunction  of  secrecy  removed.  Janaaiy  13, 
189a — Ordered  printed.] 

To  the  Senate  of  the  United  States: 

1  transmit  herewith,  with  a  view  to  its  ratification,  a 
treaty  of  peace  between  the  United  States  and  Spain, 
signed  at  the  city  of  Paris  on  December  10,  1898,  to- 
gether with  the  protocols  and  papers  indicated  in  the  list 
accompanying  the  report  of  the  Secretary  of  State. 

William  McKinley. 
Executive  Mansion, 

Washington,  January  4, 1899, 


To  the  President: 

The  undersigned.  Secretary  of  State,  has  the  honor 
to  lay  before  the  P*resident,  with  a  view  to  its  submission 
to  the  Senate  if  deemed  proper,  a  treaty  of  peace  con- 

249 


250     THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

eluded  at  Paris  on  December  10,   1898,  between  the 
United  States  and  Spain. 

Accompanying  the  treaty  are  the  protocols  of  the  con- 
ferences of  the  Peace  Commission  at  Paris,  together  with 
copies  of  statements  made  before  the  United  States  com- 
missioners, and  other  papers  indicated  in  the  inclosed 
list. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

John  Hat. 

Department  of  State, 

Washington,  January  3,  1899. 


The  United  States  of  America  and  Her  Majesty  the 
Queen  Regent  of  Spain,  in  the  name  of  her  august  son 
Don  Alfonso  XIII,  desiring  to  end  the  state  of  war  now 
existing  between  the  two  countries,  have  for  that  pur- 
pose appointed  as  plenipotentiaries: 

The  President  of  the  United  States, 

William  R.  Day,  Cushman  K.  Davis,  William  P.  Frye, 
George  Gray,  and  Whitelaw  Reid,  citizens  of  the  United 
States ; 

And  Her  Majesty  the  Queen  Regent  of  Spain, 

Don  Eugenio  Montero  Rios,  president  of  the  Senate; 
Don  Buenaventura  de  Abarzuza,  senator  of  the  King- 
dom and  ex-minister  of  the  Crown ;  Don  Jose  de  Garnica, 
deputy  to  the  Cortes  and  associate  justice  of  the  Supreme 
Court;  Don  Wenceslao  Ramirez  de  Villa-Urrutia,  envoy 
extraordinary  and  minister  plenipotentiary  at  Brussels; 
and  Don  Rafael  Cereo,  general  of  division ; 

Who,  having  assembled  in  Paris,  and  having  exchanged 
their  full  powers,  which  were  found  to  be  in  due  and 


APPENDIX  A  251 

proper  form,  have,  after  discussion  of  the  matters  be- 
fore them,  agreed  upon  the  following  articles: 

Article  I 

Spain  relinquishes  all  claim  of  sovereignty  over  and 
title  to  Cuba. 

And  as  the  Island  is,  upon  its  evacuation  by  Spain,  to 
be  occupied  by  the  United  States,  the  United  States  will, 
so  long  as  such  occupation  shall  last,  assume  and  dis- 
charge the  obligations  that  may  under  international  law 
result  from  the  fact  of  its  occupation,  for  the  protection 
of  life  and  property. 

Article  II 

Spain  cedes  to  the  United  States  the  island  of  Porto 
Rico  and  other  islands  now  under  Spanish  sovereignty 
in  the  West  Indies,  and  the  island  of  Guam  in  the  Mari- 
anas or  Ladrones. 

Article  III 

Spain  cedes  to  the  United  States  the  archipelago 
known  as  the  Philippine  Islands,  and  comprehending  the 
islands  lying  within  the  following  line : 

A  line  running  from  west  to  east  along  or  near  the 
twentieth  parallel  of  north  latitude,  and  through  the 
middle  of  the  navigable  channel  of  Bachi,  from  the  one 
hundred  and  eighteenth  (118th)  to  the  one  hundred  and 
twenty-seventh  (127th)  degree  meridian  of  longitude 
east  of  Greenwich,  thence  along  the  one  hundred  and 
twenty-seventh  (127th)  degree  meridian  of  longitude 
east  of  Greenwich  to  the  parallel  of  four  degrees  and 
forty-five  minutes  (4°  45')  north  latitude,  thence  along 


252      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

the  parallel  of  four  degrees  and  forty-five  minutes  (4° 
45')  north  latitude  to  its  intersection  with  the  meridian 
of  longitude  one  hundred  and  nineteen  degrees  and 
thirty-five  minutes  (119°  35')  east  of  Greenwich,  thence 
along  the  meridian  of  longitude  one  hundred  and  nine- 
teen degrees  and  thirty-five  minutes  (119°  35')  east  of 
Greenwich  to  the  parallel  of  latitude  seven  degrees  and 
forty  minutes  (7°  40')  north,  thence  along  the  parallel 
of  latitude  of  seven  degrees  and  forty  minutes  (7°  40') 
north  to  its  intersection  with  the  one  hundred  and  six- 
teenth (116th)  degree  meridian  of  longitude  east  of 
Greenwich,  thence  by  a  direct  line  to  the  intersection  of 
the  tenth  (10th)  degree  parallel  of  north  latitude  with 
the  one  hundred  and  eighteenth  (118th)  degree  meridian 
of  longitude  east  of  Greenwich,  and  thence  along  the  one 
hundred  and  eighteenth  (118th)  degree  meridian  of 
longitude  east  of  Greenwich  to  the  point  of  beginning. 

The  United  States  will  pay  to  Spain  the  sura  of  twenty 
million  dollars  ($20,000,000)  within  three  months  after 
the  exchange  of  the  ratifications  of  the  present  treaty. 

Article  IV 

The  United  States  will,  for  the  term  of  ten  years  from 
the  date  of  the  exchange  of  the  ratifications  of  the  pres- 
ent treaty,  admit  Spanish  ships  and  merchandise  to  the 
ports  of  the  Philippine  Islands  on  the  same  terms  as 
ships  and  merchandise  of  the  United  States. 

Article  V 

The  United  States  will,  upon  the  signature  of  the 
present  treaty,  send  back  to  Spain,  at  its  own  cost,  the 
Spanish  soldiers  taken  as  prisoners  of  war  on  the  capture 


APPENDIX  A  253 

of  Manila  by  the  American  forces.  The  arms  of  the 
soldiers  in  question  shall  be  restored  to  them. 

Spain  will,  upon  the  exchange  of  the  ratifications  of 
the  present  treaty,  proceed  to  evacuate  the  Philippines, 
as  well  as  the  Island  of  Guam,  on  terms  similar  to  those 
agreed  upon  by  the  commissioners  appointed  to  arrange 
for  the  evacuation  of  Porto  Rico  and  other  islands  in  the 
West  Indies,  under  the  protocol  of  August  12,  1898, 
which  is  to  continue  in  force  till  its  provisions  are  com- 
pletely executed. 

The  time  within  which  the  evacuation  of  the  Philip- 
pine Islands  and  Guam  shall  be  completed  shall  be  fixed 
by  the  two  Governments.  Stands  of  colors,  uncaptured 
war  vessels,  small  arms,  guns  of  all  calibers,  with  their 
carriages  and  accessories,  powder,  ammunition,  live  stock, 
and  materials  and  supplies  of  all  kinds,  belonging  to 
the  land  and  naval  forces  of  Spain  in  the  Philippines 
and  Guam,  remain  the  property  of  Spain.  Pieces  of 
heavy  ordnance,  exclusive  of  field  artillery,  in  the  forti- 
fications and  coast  defenses,  shall  remain  in  their  em- 
placements for  the  term  of  six  months,  to  be  reckoned 
from  the  exchange  of  ratifications  of  the  treaty ;  and  the 
United  States  may,  in  the  meantime,  purchase  such  ma- 
terial from  Spain,  if  a  satisfactory  agreement  between 
the  two  Governments  on  the  subject  shall  be  reached. 

Article  VI 

Spain  will,  upon  the  signature  of  the  present  treaty, 
release  all  prisoners  of  war  and  all  persons  detained  or 
imprisoned  for  political  offenses  in  connection  with  the 
insurrections  in  Cuba  and  the  Philippines  and  the  war 
with  the  United  States. 


254      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

Reciprocally,  the  United  States  will  release  aU  per- 
sons made  prisoners  of  war  by  the  American  forces  and 
will  undertake  to  obtain  the  release  of  all  Spanish 
prisoners  in  the  hands  of  the  insurgents  in  Cuba  and  the 
Philippines. 

The  Government  of  the  United  States  will,  at  its  own 
cost,  return  to  Spain  and  the  Government  of  Spain  will, 
at  its  own  cost,  return  to  the  United  States,  Cuba,  Porto 
Rico,  and  the  Philippines,  according  to  the  situation  of 
their  respective  homes,  prisoners  released  or  caused  to  be 
released  by  them,  respectively,  under  this  article. 

Article  VII 

The  United  States  and  Spain  mutually  relinquish  all 
claims  for  indemnity,  national  and  individual,  of  every 
kind,  of  either  Government  or  of  its  citizens  or  subjects 
against  the  other  Government  that  may  have  arisen 
since  the  beginning  of  the  late  insurrection  in  Cuba  and 
prior  to  the  exchange  of  ratifications  of  the  present 
treaty,  including  all  claims  for  indemnity  for  the  cost 
of  the  war. 

The  United  States  will  adjudicate  and  settle  the  claims 
of  its  citizens  against  Spain  relinquished  in  this  article. 

Article  VIII 

In  conformity  with  the  provisions  of  Articles  I,  II, 
and  III  of  this  treaty,  Spain  relinquishes  in  Cuba  and 
cedes  in  Porto  Rico  and  other  islands  in  the  West  Indies, 
in  the  Island  of  Guam,  and  in  the  Philippine  Archi- 
pelago, all  the  buildings,  wharves,  barracks,  forts,  struc- 
tures, public  highways,  and  other  immovable  property 


APPENDIX  A  255 

which,  in  conformity  with  law,  belong  to  the  public  do- 
main and  as  such  belong  to  the  Crown  of  Spain. 

And  it  is  hereby  declared  that  the  relinquishment  or 
cession,  as  the  case  may  be,  to  which  the  preceding  para- 
graph refers,  can  not  in  any  respect  impair  the  property 
or  rights  which  by  law  belong  to  the  peaceful  possession 
of  property  of  all  kinds,  of  provinces,  municipalities, 
public  or  private  establishments,  ecclesiastical  or  civic 
bodies,  or  any  other  associations  having  legal  capacity 
to  acquire  and  possess  property  in  the  aforesaid  terri- 
tories renounced  or  ceded,  or  of  private  individuals,  of 
whatsoever  nationality  such  individuals  may  be. 

The  aforesaid  relinquishment  or  cession,  as  the  case 
may  be,  includes  all  documents  exclusively  referring  to 
the  sovereignty  relinquished  or  ceded  that  may  exist  in 
the  archives  of  the  peninsula.  Where  any  document 
in  such  archives  only  in  part  relates  to  said  sovereignty, 
a  copy  of  such  part  will  be  furnished  whenever  it  shall 
be  requested.  Like  rules  shall  be  reciprocally  observed 
in  favor  of  Spain  in  respect  of  documents  in  the  archives 
of  the  islands  above  referred  to. 

In  the  aforesaid  relinquishment  or  cession,  as  the  ease 
may  be,  are  also  included  such  rights  as  the  Crown  of 
Spain  and  its  authorities  possess  in  respect  of  the  oflBcial 
archives  and  records,  executive  as  well  as  judicial,  in 
the  islands  above  referred  to,  which  relate  to  said  islands 
or  the  rights  and  property  of  their  inhabitants.  Such 
archives  and  records  shall  be  carefully  preserved,  and 
private  persons  shall  without  distinction  have  the  right 
to  require,  in  accordance  with  law,  authenticated  copies 
of  the  contracts,  wills,  and  other  instruments  forming 
part  of  notarial  protocols  or  files,  or  which  may  be  con- 


256      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

tained  in  the  executive  or  judicial  archives,  be  the  latter 
in  Spain  or  in  the  islands  aforesaid. 

Article  IX 

Spanish  subjects,  natives  of  the  peninsula,  residing  in 
the  territory  over  which  Spain  by  the  present  treaty  re- 
linquishes or  cedes  her  sovereignty,  may  remain  in  such 
territory  or  may  remove  therefrom,  retaining  in  either 
event  all  their  rights  of  property,  including  the  right  to 
sell  or  dispose  of  such  property  or  of  its  proceeds,  and 
they  shall  also  have  the  right  to  carry  on  their  industry, 
commerce,  and  professions,  being  subject  in  respect 
thereof  to  such  laws  as  are  applicable  to  other  foreigners. 
In  case  they  remain  in  the  territory  they  may  preserve 
their  allegiance  to  the  Crown  of  Spain  by  making,  before 
a  court  of  record,  within  a  year  from  the  date  of  the 
exchange  of  ratifications  of  this  treaty,  a  declaration  of 
their  decision  to  preserve  such  allegiance;  in  default  of 
which  declaration  they  shall  be  held  to  have  renounced  it 
and  to  have  adopted  the  nationality  of  the  territory  in 
which  they  may  reside. 

The  civil  rights  and  political  status  of  the  native  in- 
habitants of  the  territories  hereby  ceded  to  the  United 
States  shall  be  determined  by  the  Congress. 

Article  X 

The  inhabitants  of  the  territories  over  which  Spain  re- 
linquishes or  cedes  her  sovereignty  shall  be  secured  in 
the  free  exercise  of  their  religion. 


APPENDIX  A  257 

Article  XI 

The  Spaniards  residing  in  the  territories  over  whicli 
Spain  by  this  treaty  cedes  or  relinquishes  her  sovereignty 
shall  be  subject  in  matters  civil  as  well  as  criminal  to 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  courts  of  the  country  wherein  they 
reside,  pursuant  to  the  ordinary  laws  governing  the  same ; 
and  they  shall  have  the  right  to  appear  before  such 
courts,  and  to  pursue  the  same  course  as  citizens  of  the 
country  to  which  the  courts  belong. 

Article  XII 

Judicial  proceedings  pending  at  the  time  of  the  ex- 
change of  ratifications  of  this  treaty  in  the  territories 
over  which  Spain  relinquishes  or  cedes  her  sovereignty 
shall  be  determined  according  to  the  following  rules : 

1.  Judgments  rendered  either  in  civil  suits  between 
private  individuals,  or  in  criminal  matters,  before  the 
date  mentioned,  and  with  respect  to  which  there  is  no 
recourse  or  right  of  review  under  the  Spanish  law,  shall 
be  deemed  to  be  final,  and  shall  be  executed  in  due  form 
by  competent  authority  in  the  territory  within  which 
such  judgments  should  be  carried  out. 

2.  Civil  suits  between  private  individuals  which  may 
on  the  date  mentioned  be  undetermined  shall  be  prose- 
cuted to  judgment  before  the  court  in  which  they  may 
then  be  pending  or  in  the  court  that  may  be  substituted 
therefor. 

3.  Criminal  actions  pending  on  the  date  mentioned 
before  the  Supreme  Court  of  Spain  against  citizens  of  the 
territory  which  by  this  treaty  ceases  to  be  Spanish  shall 
continue  under  its  jurisdiction  until  final  judgment ;  but, 


258     THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

such  judgment  having  been  rendered,  the  execution 
thereof  shall  be  committed  to  the  competent  authority 
of  the  place  in  which  the  case  arose. 

Article  XIII 

The  rights  of  property  secured  by  copyrights  and 
patents  acquired  by  Spaniards  in  the  Island  of  Cuba  and 
in  Porto  Rico,  the  Philippines,  and  other  ceded  terri- 
tories, at  the  time  of  the  exchange  of  the  ratifications  of 
this  treaty,  shall  continue  to  be  respected.  Spanish 
scientific,  literary,  and  artistic  works,  not  subversive  of 
public  order  in  the  territories  in  question,  shall  continue 
to  be  admitted  free  of  duty  into  such  territories  for  the 
period  of  ten  years,  to  be  reckoned  from  the  date  of  the 
exchange  of  the  ratifications  of  this  treaty. 

Article  XIV 

Spain  will  have  the  power  to  establish  consular  officers 
in  the  ports  and  places  of  the  territories,  the  sovereignty 
over  which  has  been  either  relinquished  or  ceded  by  the 
present  treaty. 

Article  XV 

The  Government  of  each  country  will,  for  the  term  of 
ten  years,  accord  to  the  merchant  vessels  of  the  other 
country  the  same  treatment  in  respect  of  all  port  charges, 
including  entrance  and  clearance  dues,  light  dues,  and 
tonnage  duties,  as  it  accords  to  its  own  merchant  vessels 
not  engaged  in  the  coastwide  trade. 

This  article  may  at  any  time  be  terminated  on  six 
months'  notice  given  by  either  Government  to  the  other. 


APPENDIX  A  259 

Article  XVI 

It  is  understood  that  any  obligations  assumed  in  this 
treaty  by  the  United  States  with  respect  to  Cuba  are 
limited  to  the  time  of  is  occupancy  thereof;  but  it  will 
upon  the  termination  of  such  occupancy,  advise  any 
Government  established  in  the  Island  to  assume  the  same 
obligations. 

Article  XVII 

The  present  treaty  shall  be  ratified  by  the  President  of 
the  United  States,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent 
of  the  Senate  thereof,  and  by  Her  Majesty  the  Queen 
Eegent  of  Spain ;  and  the  ratifications  shall  be  exchanged 
at  Washington  within  six  months  from  the  date  thereof, 
or  earlier  if  possible. 

In  faith  whereof,  we,  the  respective  Plenipotentiaries, 
have  signed  this  treaty  and  have  hereunto  affixed  our 
seals. 

Done  in  duplicate  at  Paris,  the  tenth  day  of  December, 
in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
ninety  eight. 


[seal 
[seal 
[seal 
[seal 
[seal 
[seal 
[seal 
[seal 
[seal 
[seal 


William  K.  Day 
CusHMAN  K.  Davis 
William  P.  Frye 
Geo.  Gray 
Whitelaw  Reid 
Eugenio  Montero  Rios 
B.  DE  Abarzuza 

J.   DE    GaRNICA 

W  R  DE  Villa  Urrutia 
Rafael  Cerero 


APPENDIX  B 

PRESIDENT  McKINLEY'S  INSTRUCTIONS  TO 
THE  TAPT  COMMISSION. 

War  Department, 

Washington,  April  7,  1900. 
Sir :     I  transmit  to  you  herewith  the  instructions  of  the 
President  for  the  guidance  of  yourself  and  your  associ- 
ates as  Commissioners  to  the  Philippine  Islands. 
Very  respectfully, 

Elihu  Root, 
Secretary  of  War. 
Hon.  William  H.  Taft, 

President  Board  of  Commissioners 

to  the  Philippine  Islands. 


Executive  Mansion,  April  7,  1900. 
The  Seceetaby  op  War, 

Washington. 

Sir:  In  the  message  transmitted  to  the  Congress  on 
the  5th  of  December,  1899,  I  said,  speaking  of  the  Philip- 
pine Islands :  *  *  As  long  as  the  insurrection  continues 
the  military  arm  must  necessarily  be  supreme.  But  there 
is  no  reason  why  steps  should  not  be  taken  from  time  to 
time  to  inaugurate  governments  essentially  popular  in 
their  form  as  fast  as  territory  is  held  and  controlled  by 
our  troops.  To  this  end  I  am  considering  the  advisability 
of  the  return  of  the  Commission,  or  such  of  the  members 

260 


APPENDIX  B  261 

thereof  as  can  be  secured,  to  aid  the  existing  authorities 
and  facilitate  this  work  throughout  the  Islands." 

To  give  effect  to  the  intention  thus  expressed  I  have 
appointed  Hon.  William  H.  Taft,  of  Ohio;  Prof.  Dean  C. 
Worcester,  of  JMichigan;  Hon.  Luke  E.  Wright,  of  Ten- 
nessee; Hon,  Henry  C.  Ide,  of  Vermont,  and  Prof.  Ber- 
nard Moses,  of  California,  commissioners  to  the  Philip- 
pine Islands  to  continue  and  perfect  the  work  of  organiz- 
ing and  establishing  civil  government  already  commenced 
by  the  military  authorities,  subject  in  all  respects  to  any 
laws  which  Congress  may  hereafter  enact. 

The  commissioners  named  will  meet  and  act  as  a  board, 
and  the  Hon.  William  H.  Taft  is  designated  as  president 
of  the  board.  It  is  probable  that  the  transfer  of  author- 
ity from  military  commanders  to  civil  officers  will  be 
gradual  and  will  occupy  a  considerable  period.  Its  suc- 
cessful accomplishment  and  the  maintenance  of  peace  and 
order  in  the  meantime  will  require  the  most  perfect  co- 
operation between  the  civil  and  military  authorities  in  the 
Islands,  and  both  should  be  directed  during  the  transi- 
tion period  by  the  same  executive  department.  The 
Commission  will  therf  ore  report  to  the  Secretary  of  War, 
and  all  their  action  will  be  subject  to  your  approval  and 
control. 

You  will  instruct  the  Commission  to  proceed  to  the  city 
of  Manila,  where  they  will  make  their  principal  office,  and 
to  communicate  with  the  military  governor  of  the  Philip- 
pine Islands,  whom  you  will  at  the  same  time  direct  to 
render  to  them  every  assistance  within  his  power  in  the 
performance  of  their  duties.  Without  hampering  them 
by  too  specific  instructions,  they  should  in  general  be 
enjoined,  after  making  themselves  familiar  with  the  con- 


262      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

ditions  and  needs  of  the  country,  to  devote  their  atten- 
tion in  the  first  instance  to  the  establisment  of  municipal 
governments,  in  which  the  natives  of  the  islands,  both  in 
the  cities  and  in  the  rural  communities,  shall  be  afforded 
the  opportunity  to  manage  their  own  local  affairs  to  the 
fullest  extent  of  which  they  are  capable,  and  subject  to 
the  least  degree  of  supervision  and  control  which  a  careful 
study  of  their  capacities  and  observations  of  the  workings 
of  native  control  show  to  be  consistent  with  the  mainte- 
nance of  law,  order,  and  loyalty. 

The  next  subject  in  order  of  importance  should  be  the 
organization  of  government  in  the  larger  administrative 
divisions  corresponding  to  counties,  departments,  or  prov- 
inces, in  which  the  common  interests  of  many  or  several 
municipalities  falling  within  the  same  tribal  lines,  or  the 
same  natural  geographical  limits,  may  best  be  subserved 
by  a  common  administration.  "Whenever  the  Commission 
is  of  the  opinion  that  the  condition  of  affairs  in  the  Is- 
lands is  such  that  the  central  administration  may  safely 
be  transferred  from  military  to  civil  control,  they  will  re- 
port that  conclusion  to  you,  with  their  recommendations 
as  to  the  form  of  central  government  to  be  established  for 
the  purpose  of  taking  over  the  control. 

Beginning  with  the  1st  day  of  September,  1900,  the 
authority  to  exercise,  subject  to  my  approval,  through 
the  Secretary  of  War,  that  part  of  the  power  of  govern- 
ment in  the  Philippine  Islands  which  is  of  a  legislative 
nature  is  to  be  transferred  from  the  military  governor 
of  the  Islands  to  this  Commission,  to  be  thereafter  exer- 
cised by  them  in  the  place  and  stead  of  the  military  gov- 
ernor, under  such  rules  and  regulations  as  you  shall  pre- 
scribe, until  the  establishment  of  the  civil  central  govern- 


APPENDIX  B  263 

ment  for  the  Islands  contemplated  in  the  last  foregoing 
paragraph,  or  until  Congress  shall  otherwise  provide. 
Exercise  of  this  legislative  authority  will  include  the 
making  of  rules  and  orders,  having  the  effect  of  law,  for 
the  raising  of  revenue  by  taxes,  customs  duties,  and  im- 
posts ;  the  appropriation  and  expenditure  of  public  funds 
of  the  Islands;  the  establishment  of  an  educational  sys- 
tem throughout  the  Islands;  the  establishment  of  a  sys- 
tem to  secure  an  efficient  civil  service;  the  organization 
and  establishment  of  courts;  the  organization  and  estab- 
lishment of  municipal  and  departmental  governments, 
and  all  other  matters  of  a  civil  nature  for  which  the  mili- 
tary governor  is  now  competent  to  provide  by  rules  or 
orders  of  a  legislative  character. 

The  Commission  will  also  have  power  during  the  same 
period  to  appoint  to  office  such  officers  under  the  judicial, 
educational,  and  civil-service  systems  and  in  the  muni- 
cipal and  departmental  governments  as  shall  be  provided 
for.  Until  the  complete  transfer  of  control  the  military 
governor  will  remain  the  chief  executive  head  of  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  islands,  and  will  exercise  the  executive 
authority  now  possessed  by  him  and  not  herein  expressly 
assigned  to  the  commission,  subject,  however,  to  the  rules 
and  orders  enacted  by  the  Commission  in  the  exercise  of 
the  legislative  powers  conferred  upon  them.  In  the 
meantime  the  municipal  and  departmental  governments 
will  continue  to  report  to  the  military  governor  and  be 
subject  to  his  administrative  supervision  and  control, 
under  your  direction,  but  that  supervision  and  control 
will  be  confined  within  the  narrowest  limits  consistent 
with  the  requirement  that  the  powers  of  government  in 
the  municipalities  and  departments  shall  be  honestly  and 


264     THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

effectively  exercised  and  that  law  and  order  and  indi- 
vidual freedom  shall  be  maintained. 

All  legislative  rules  and  orders,  establishments  of  gov- 
ernment, and  appointments  to  office  by  the  commission 
will  take  effect  immediately,  or  at  such  times  as  they  shall 
designate,  subject  to  your  approval  and  action  upon  the 
coming  in  of  the  Commission's  reports,  which  are  to  be 
made  from  time  to  time  as  their  action  is  taken.  Wher- 
ever civil  governments  are  constituted  under  the  direction 
of  the  Commission,  such  military  posts,  garrisons,  and 
forces  will  be  continued  for  the  suppression  of  insurrec- 
tion and  brigandage,  and  the  maintenance  of  law  and 
order  as  the  military  commander  shall  deem  requisite, 
and  the  military  forces  shall  be  at  all  times  subject  under 
his  orders  to  the  call  of  the  civil  authorities  for  the  main- 
tenance of  law  and  order  and  the  enforcement  of  their 
authority. 

In  the  establishment  of  municipal  governments  the 
Commission  will  take  as  the  basis  of  their  work  the  gov- 
ernments established  by  the  military  governor  under  his 
order  of  August  8, 1899,  and  under  the  report  of  the  board 
constituted  by  the  military  governor  by  his  order  of  Jan- 
uary 29,  1900,  to  formulate  and  report  a  plan  of  munici- 
pal government,  of  which  his  honor  Cayetano  Arellano, 
president  of  the  audiencia,  was  chairman,  and  they  will 
give  to  the  conclusions  of  that  board  the  weight  and  con- 
sideration which  the  high  character  and  distinguished 
abilities  of  its  members  justify. 

In  the  constitution  of  departmental  or  provincial  gov- 
ernments, they  will  give  especial  attention  to  the  existing 
government  of  the  island  of  Negros,  constituted,  with  the 
approval  of  the  people  of  that  island,  under  the  order  of 


APPENDIX  B  265 

the  military  governor  of  July  22,  1899,  and  after  verify- 
ing, so  far  as  may  be  practicable,  the  reports  of  the  suc- 
cessful working  of  that  government,  they  will  be  guided 
by  the  experience  thus  acquired,  so  far  as  it  may  be  ap- 
plicable to  the  condition  existing  in  other  portions  of  the 
Philippines.  They  will  avail  themselves  to  the  fullest 
degree  practicable  of  the  conclusions  reached  by  the  pre- 
vious Commission  to  the  Philippines. 

In  the  distribution  of  powers  among  the  governments 
organized  by  the  Commission,  the  presumption  is  always 
to  be  in  favor  of  the  smaller  subdivision,  so  that  all  the 
powers  which  can  properly  be  exercised  by  the  municipal 
government  shall  be  vested  in  that  government,  and  all 
the  powers  of  a  more  general  character  which  can  be  ex- 
ercised by  the  departmental  government  shall  be  vested 
in  that  government,  and  so  that  in  the  governmental 
system,  which  is  the  result  of  the  process,  the  central 
government  of  the  Islands,  following  the  example  of  the 
distribution  of  the  powers  between  the  States  and  the. 
National  Government  of  the  United  States,  shall  have  no 
direct  administration  except  of  matters  of  purely  general 
concern,  and  shall  have  only  such  supervision  and  control 
over  local  governments  as  may  be  necessary  to  secure 
and  enforce  faithful  and  efficient  administration  by  local 
officers. 

The  many  different  degrees  of  civilization  and  varieties 
of  custom  and  capacity  among  the  people  of  the  different 
islands  preclude  very  definite  instruction  as  to  the  part 
which  the  people  shall  take  in  the  selection  of  their  own 
officers ;  but  these  general  rules  are  to  be  observed :  That 
in  all  cases  the  municipal  officers,  who  administer  the 
local  affairs  of  the  people,  are  to  be  selected  by  the  people, 


266     THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

and  that  wherever  officers  of  more  extended  jurisdiction 
are  to  be  selected  in  any  way,  natives  of  the  Islands  are 
to  be  preferred,  and  if  they  can  be  found  competent  and 
willing  to  perform  the  duties,  they  are  to  receive  the 
offices  in  preference  to  any  others. 

It  will  be  necessary  to  fill  some  offices  for  the  present 
with  Americans,  which,  after  a  time,  may  well  be  filled 
by  natives  of  the  Islands.  As  soon  as  practicable  a  sys- 
tem for  ascertaining  the  merit  and  fitness  of  candidates 
for  civil  office  should  be  put  in  force.  An  indispensable 
qualification  for  all  offices  and  positions  of  trust  and 
authority  in  the  Islands  must  be  absolute  and  uncondi- 
tional loyalty  to  the  United  States,  and  absolute  and 
unhampered  authority  and  power  to  remove  and  punish 
any  officer  deviating  from  that  standard  must  at  all  times 
be  retained  in  the  hands  of  the  central  authority  of  the 
Islands. 

In  all  the  forms  of  government  and  administrative 
provisions  which  they  are  authorized  to  prescribe,  the 
Commission  should  bear  in  mind  that  the  government 
which  they  are  establishing  is  designed  not  for  our  satis- 
faction, or  for  the  expression  of  our  theoretical  views,  but 
for  the  happiness,  peace,  and  prosperity  of  the  people  of 
the  Philippine  Islands,  and  the  measures  adopted  should 
be  made  to  conform  to  their  customs,  their  habits,  and 
even  their  prejudices,  to  the  fullest  extent  consistent  with 
the  accomplishment  of  the  indispensable  requisites  of  just 
and  effective  government. 

At  the  same  time  the  Commission  should  bear  in  mind, 
and  the  people  of  the  Islands  should  be  made  plainly  to 
understand,  that  there  are  certain  great  principles  of  gov- 
ernment which  have  been  made  the  basis  of  our  govern- 


APPENDIX  B  267 

mental  system  which  we  deem  essential  to  the  rule  of  law 
and  the  maintenance  of  individual  freedom,  and  of  which 
they  have,  unfortunately,  been  denied  the  experience 
possessed  by  us;  that  there  are  also  certain  practical 
rules  of  government  which  we  have  found  to  be  essential 
to  the  preservation  of  these  great  principles  of  liberty 
and  law,  and  that  these  principles  and  these  rules  of  gov- 
ernment must  be  established  and  maintained  in  their 
islands  for  the  sake  of  their  liberty  and  happiness,  how- 
ever much  they  may  conflict  with  the  customs  or  laws  of 
procedure  with  which  they  are  familiar. 

It  is  evident  that  the  most  enlightened  thought  of  the 
Philippine  Islands  fully  appreciates  the  importance  of 
these  principles  and  rules,  and  they  will  inevitably  within 
a  short  time  command  universal  assent.  Upon  every  di- 
vision and  branch  of  the  Government  of  the  Philippines, 
therefore,  must  be  imposed  these  inviolable  rules : 

That  no  person  shall  be  deprived  of  life,  liberty,  or 
property  without  due  process  of  law ;  that  private  prop- 
erty shall  not  be  taken  for  public  use  without  just  com- 
pensation; that  in  all  criminal  prosecutions  the  accused 
shall  enjoy  the  right  to  a  speedy  and  public  trial,  to  be 
informed  of  the  nature  and  cause  of  the  accusation,  to 
be  confronted  with  the  witnesses  against  him,  to  have 
compulsory  process  for  obtaining  witnesses  in  his  favor, 
and  to  have  the  assistance  of  counsel  for  his  defense ;  that 
excessive  bail  shall  not  be  required,  nor  excessive  fines 
imposed,  nor  cruel  and  unusual  punishment  inflicted; 
that  no  person  shall  be  put  twice  in  jeopardy  for  the  same 
offense,  or  be  compelled  in  any  criminal  case  to  be  a  wit- 
ness against  himself;  that  the  right  to  be  secure  against 
unreasonable  searches  and  seizures  shall  not  be  violated; 


268      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

that  neither  slavery  nor  involuntary  servitude  shall  exist 
except  as  a  punishment  for  crime;  that  no  bill  of  at- 
tainder, or  ex-post-f acto  law  shall  be  passed ;  that  no  law 
shall  be  passed  abridging  the  freedom  of  speech  or  of  the 
press,  or  the  rights  of  the  people  to  peaceably  assemble 
and  petition  the  Government  for  a  redress  of  grievances ; 
that  no  law  shall  be  made  respecting  an  establishment  of 
religion,  or  prohibiting  the  free  exercise  thereof,  and  that 
the  free  exercise  and  enjoyment  of  religious  profession 
and  worship  without  discrimination  or  preference  shall 
forever  be  allowed. 

It  will  be  the  duty  of  the  Commission  to  make  a  thor- 
ough investigation  into  the  titles  to  the  large  tracts  of 
land  held  or  claimed  by  individuals  or  by  religious  orders ; 
into  the  justice  of  the  claims  and  complaints  made  against 
such  landholders  by  the  people  of  the  Island  or  any  part 
of  the  people,  and  to  seek  by  wise  and  peaceable  measures 
a  just  settlement  of  the  controversies  and  redress  of 
wrongs  which  have  caused  strife  and  bloodshed  in  the 
past.  In  the  performance  of  this  duty  the  Commission  is 
enjoined  to  see  that  no  injustice  is  done ;  to  have  regard 
for  substantial  rights  and  equity,  disregarding  technical- 
ities so  far  as  substantial  right  permits,  and  to  observe 
the  following  rules : 

That  the  provision  of  the  treaty  of  Paris,  pledging  the 
United  States  to  the  protection  of  all  rights  of  property 
in  the  Islands,  and  as  well  the  principle  of  our  own  Gov- 
ernment which  prohibits  the  taking  of  private  property 
without  due  process  of  law,  shall  not  be  violated ;  that  the 
welfare  of  the  people  of  the  Islands,  which  should  be  a 
paramount  consideration,  shall  be  attained  consistently 
with  this  rule  of  property  right ;  that  if  it  becomes  nee- 


APPENDIX  B  269 

essary  for  the  public  interest  of  the  people  of  the  Islands 
to  dispose  of  claims  to  property  which  the  Commission 
finds  to  be  not  lawfully  acquired  and  held  disposition  shall 
be  made  thereof  by  due  legal  procedure,  in  which  there 
shall  be  full  opportunity  for  fair  and  impartial  hearing 
and  judgment;  that  if  the  same  public  interests  require 
the  extinguishment  of  property  rights  lawfully  acquired 
and  held  due  compensation  shall  be  made  out  of  the  public 
treasury  therefor;  that  no  form  of  religion  and  no  min- 
ister of  religion  shall  be  forced  upon  any  community  or 
upon  any  citizen  of  the  Islands ;  that  upon  the  other  hand 
no  minister  of  religion  shall  be  interfered  with  or  mo- 
lested in  following  his  calling,  and  that  the  separation  be- 
tween state  and  church  shall  be  real,  entire,  and  absolute. 
It  will  be  the  duty  of  the  Commission  to  promote  and 
extend,  and,  as  they  find  occasion,  to  improve,  the  system 
of  education  already  inaugurated  by  the  military  authori- 
ties. In  doing  this  they  should  regard  as  of  first  impor- 
tance the  extension  of  a  system  of  primary  education 
which  shall  be  free  to  all,  and  which  shall  tend  to  fit  the 
people  for  the  duties  of  citizenship  and  for  the  ordinary 
avocations  of  a  civilized  community.  This  instruction 
should  be  given  in  the  first  instance  in  every  part  of  the 
Islands  in  the  language  of  the  people.  In  view  of  the 
great  number  of  languages  spoken  by  the  different  tribes, 
it  is  especially  important  to  the  prosperity  of  the  Islands 
that  a  common  medium  of  communication  may  be  estab- 
lished, and  it  is  obviously  desirable  that  this  medium 
should  be  the  English  language.  Especial  attention 
should  be  at  once  given  to  affording  full  opportunity  to 
all  the  people  of  the  Islands  to  acquire  the  use  of  the 
English  language. 


270      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

It  may  be  well  that  the  main  changes  which  should  be 
made  in  the  system  of  taxation  and  in  the  body  of  the 
laws  under  which  the  people  are  governed,  except  such 
changes  as  have  already  been  made  by  the  military  gov- 
ernment, should  be  relegated  to  the  civil  government 
which  is  to  be  established  under  the  auspices  of  the  Com- 
mission. It  will,  however,  be  the  duty  of  the  Commission 
to  inquire  diligently  as  to  whether  there  are  any  further 
changes  which  ought  not  to  be  delayed ;  and  if  so,  they  are 
authorized  to  make  such  changes,  subject  to  your  ap- 
proval. In  doing  so  they  are  to  bear  in  mind  that  taxes 
which  tend  to  penalize  or  repress  industry  and  enterprise 
are  to  be  avoided ;  that  provisions  for  taxation  should  be 
simple,  so  that  they  may  be  understood  by  the  people; 
that  they  should  affect  the  fewest  practicable  subjects  of 
taxation  which  will  serve  for  the  general  distribution  of 
the  burden. 

The  main  body  of  the  laws  which  regulate  the  rights 
and  obligations  of  the  people  should  be  maintained  with 
as  little  interference  as  possible.  Changes  made  should 
be  mainly  in  procedure,  and  in  the  criminal  laws  to  secure 
speedy  and  impartial  trials,  and  at  the  same  time  effective 
administration  and  respect  for  individual  rights. 

In  dealing  with  the  uncivilized  tribes  of  the  Islands  the 
Commission  should  adopt  the  same  course  followed  by 
Congress  in  permitting  the  tribes  of  our  North  American 
Indians  to  maintain  their  tribal  organization  and  govern- 
ment, and  under  which  many  of  those  tribes  are  now  liv- 
ing in  peace  and  contentment,  surrounded  by  a  civiliza- 
tion to  which  they  are  unable  or  unwilling  to  conform. 
Such  tribal  governments  should,  however,  be  subjected 
to  wise  and  firm  regulation ;  and,  without  undue  or  petty 


APPENDIX  B  271 

interference,  constant  and  active  effort  should  be  exer- 
cised to  prevent  barbarous  practices  and  introduce  civ- 
ilized customs. 

Upon  all  officers  and  employees  of  the  United  States, 
both  civil  and  military,  should  be  impressed  a  sense  of 
the  duty  to  observe  not  merely  the  material  but  the  per- 
sonal and  social  rights  of  the  people  of  the  Islands,  and 
to  treat  them  with  the  same  courtesy  and  respect  for 
their  personal  dignity  vt^hich  the  people  of  the  United 
States  are  accustomed  to  require  from  each  other. 

The  articles  of  capitulation  of  the  city  of  Manila  on 
the  13th  of  August,  1898,  concluded  with  these  words : 

**  This  city,  its  inhabitants,  its  churches  and  religious 
worship,  its  educational  establishments,  and  its  private 
property  of  all  descriptions,  are  placed  under  the  special 
safeguard  of  the  faith  and  honor  of  the  American  army. ' ' 

I  believe  that  this  pledge  has  been  faithfully  kept. 
As  high  and  sacred  an  obligation  rests  upon  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  to  give  protection  for  property 
and  life,  civil  and  religious  freedom,  and  wise,  firm,  and 
unselfish  guidance  in  the  paths  of  peace  and  prosperity 
to  all  the  people  of  the  Philippine  Islands.  I  charge  this 
Commission  to  labor  for  the  full  performance  of  this  obli- 
gation, which  concerns  the  honor  and  conscience  of  their 
country,  in  the  firm  hope  that  through  their  labors  all  the 
inhabitants  of  the  Philippine  Islands  may  come  to  look 
back  with  gratitude  to  the  day  when  God  gave  victory 
to  American  arms  at  Manila  and  set  their  land  under  the 
sovereignty  and  the  protection  of  the  people  of  the 
United  States.  William  McKinlet. 

The  Secretary  of  "War. 

Washington,  D.  C. 


APPENDIX  C 

ORGANIC  ACT  OF  THE  PHILIPPINE  ISLANDS 
Public  —  No.  235. 

An  Act  temporarily  to  provide  for  the  administration  of  ttie 
affairs  of  civil  government  in  the  Philippine  Islands,  and 
for  other  purposes. 

Be  it  enacted  hy  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representa- 
tives of  the  United  States  of  America  in  Congress  assem- 
bled, That  the  action  of  the  President  of  the  United 
States  in  creating  the  Philippine  Commission^  and 
authorizing  said  Commission  to  exercise  the  powers  of 
government  to  the  extent  and  in  the  manner  and  form 
and  subject  to  the  regulation  and  control  set  forth  in 
the  instructions  of  the  President  to  the  Philippine  Com- 
mission, dated  April  seventh,  nineteen  hundred,  and  in 
creating  the  offices  of  civil  governor  ^  and  vice-governor 
of  the  Philippine  Islands,  and  authorizing  said  civil  gov- 
ernor and  vice-governor  to  exercise  the  powers  of  govern- 
ment to  the  extent  and  in  the  manner  and  form  set  forth 
in  the  Executive  order  dated  June  twenty-first,  nineteen 
hundred  and  one,  and  in  establishing  four  executive  de- 
partments of  government  in  said  islands  as  set  forth  in 

1  Membership  of  Philippine  Commission  increased  to  nine 
by  act  of  Congress  approved  May  11,  1908.     See  p.  52. 

2  Designation  changed  to  Governor  General  by  act  of  Con- 
gress approved  February  6,  1905,  sec.  8.    See  p.  62. 

272 


APPENDIX  C  273 

the  Act  of  the  Philippine  Commission,  entitled  "  An 
Act  providing  an  organization  for  the  departments  of 
the  interior,  of  commerce  and  police,  of  finance  and 
justice,  and  of  public  instruction,"  enacted  September 
sixth,  nineteen  hundred  and  one,  is  hereby  approved, 
ratified,  and  confirmed,  and  until  otherwise  provided  by 
law  the  said  islands  shall  continue  to  be  governed  as 
thereby  and  herein  provided,  and  all  laws  passed  here- 
after by  the  Philippine  Commission  shall  have  an  enact- 
ing clause  as  follows :  "By  authority  of  the  United 
States  be  it  enacted  by  the  Philippine  Commission." 
The  provisions  of 'section  eighteen  hundred  and  ninety 
one  of  the  Revised  Statutes  of  eighteen  hundred  and 
seventy  eight  shall  not  apply  to  the  Philippine  Islands. 

Future  appointments  of  civil  governor,  vice-governor, 
members  of  said  commission,  and  heads  of  executive  de- 
partments shall  be  made  by  the  President,  by  and  with 
the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate. 

Sec.  2.3  That  the  action  of  the  President  of  the  United 
States  heretofore  taken  by  virtue  of  the  authority  vested 
in  him  as  Commander  in  Chief  of  the  Army  and  Navy,  as 
set  forth  in  his  order  of  July  twelfth,  eighteen  hundred 
and  ninety  eight,  whereby  a  tariff  of  duties  and  taxes  as 
set  forth  by  said  order  was  to  be  levied  and  collected  at 
all  ports  and  places  in  the  Philippine  Islands  upon  pass- 
ing into  the  occupation  and  possession  of  the  forces  of  the 

3  Sec.  2  has  now  ceased  to  be  a  live  provision ;  "  the  tariff 
of  duties  and  taxes  "  being  fixed  by  the  act  of  August  5,  1909, 
"  to  raise  revenue  for  the  Philippine  Islands,  and  other  pur- 
poses."    (See  also  Act  of  Congress  of  June  30,  1906,  p.  52.) 

Respecting  trade  between  the  United  States  and  the  Philip- 
pine Islands,  the  Philippine  tariff  act  of  August  5,  1909,  was 
further  modified  in  some  particulars  by  Sec.  IV  (c)  of  the 
United  States  tariff  act  of  October  3,  1913. 


274      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

United  States,  together  with  the  subsequent  amendments 
of  said  order,  are  hereby  approved,  ratified,  and  con- 
firmed, and  the  actions  of  the  authorities  of  the  govern- 
ment of  the  Philippine  Islands,  taken  in  accordance  with 
the  provisions  of  said  order  and  subsequent  amendments, 
are  hereby  approved :  Provided,  That  nothing  contained 
in  this  section  shall  be  held  to  amend  or  repeal  an  Act 
entitled  *  *  An  Act  temporarily  to  provide  revenue  for  the 
Philippine  Islands,  and  for  other  purposes,"  approved 
March  eighth,  nineteen  hundred  and  two. 

Sec.  3.  That  the  President  of  the  United  States,  dur- 
ing such  time  as  and  whenever  the  sovereignty  and  au- 
thority of  the  United  States  encounter  armed  resistance 
in  the  Philippine  Islands,  until  otherwise  provided  by 
Congress,  shall  continue  to  regulate  and  control  com- 
mercial intercourse  with  and  within  said  islands  by  such 
general  rules  and  regulations  as  he,  in  his  discretion, 
may  deem  most  conducive  to  the  public  interests  and  the 
general  welfare. 

Sec.  4  (as  amended  by  Act  of  Congress  of  March  23, 
1912).  That  all  inhabitants  of  the  Philippine  Islands 
continuing  to  reside  therein  who  were  Spanish  subjects 
on  the  eleventh  day  of  April,  eighteen  hundred  and 
ninety  nine,  and  then  resided  in  said  Islands,  and  their 
children  bom  subsequent  thereto,  shall  be  deemed  and 
held  to  be  citizens  of  the  Philippine  Islands  and  as  such 
entitled  to  the  protection  of  the  United  States,  except 
such  as  shall  have  elected  to  preserve  their  allegiance  to 
the  Crown  of  Spain  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of 
the  treaty  of  peace  *  between  the  United  States  and  Spain 

*  Article  IX  of  the  Treaty  of  Peace  of  December  10,  1898, 
and  Protocol  of  March  29,  1900. 


APPENDIX  C  275 

signed  at  Paris  December  tenth,  eighteen  hundred  and 
ninety  eight:  Provided,  That  the  Philippine  Legisla- 
ture is  hereby  authorized  to  provide  by  law  for  the 
acquisition  of  Philippine  citizenship  by  those  natives  of 
the  Philippine  Islands  who  do  not  come  within  the  fore- 
going provisions,  the  natives  of  other  insular  possessions 
of  the  United  States,  and  such  other  persons  residing 
in  the  Philippine  Islands  who  could  become  citizens  of 
the  United  States  under  the  laws  of  the  United  States  if 
residing  therein. 

Sec.  5.  That  no  law  shall  be  enacted  in  said  islands 
which  shall  deprive  any  person  of  life,  liberty,  or  prop- 
erty without  due  process  of  law,  or  deny  to  any  person 
therein  the  equal  protection  of  the  laws. 

That  in  all  criminal  prosecutions  the  accused  shall 
enjoy  the  right  to  be  heard  by  himself  and  counsel,  to 
demand, the  nature  and  cause  of  the  accusation  against 
him,  to  have  a  speedy  and  public  trial,  to  meet  the  wit- 
nesses face  to  face,  and  to  have  compulsory  process  to 
compel  the  attendance  of  witnesses  in  his  behalf. 

That  no  person  shall  be  held  to  answer  for  a  criminal 
offense  without  due  process  of  law ;  and  no  person  for  the 
same  offense  shall  be  twice  put  in  jeopardy  of  punish- 
ment, nor  shall  be  compelled  in  any  criminal  case  to  be  a 
witness  against  himself. 

That  all  persons  shall  before  conviction  be  bailable  by 
sufficient  sureties,  except  for  capital  offenses. 

That  no  law  impairing  the  obligation  of  contracts  shall 
be  enacted. 

That  no  person  shall  be  imprisoned  for  debt. 

That  the  privilege  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  shall  not 
be  suspended,  unless  when  in  cases  of  rebellion,  insurrec- 


276     THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

tion,  or  invasion  the  public  safety  may  require  it,  in 
either  of  which  events  the  same  may  be  suspended  by  the 
President,  or  by  the  governor,  with  the  approval  of  the 
Philippine  Commission,  wherever  during  such  period  the 
necessity  for  such  suspension  shall  exist. 

That  no  ex  post  facto  law  or  bill  of  attainder  shall  be 
enacted. 

That  no  law  granting  a  title  of  nobility  shall  be  en- 
acted, and  no  person  holding  any  office  of  profit  or  trust 
in  said  islands,  shall,  without  the  consent  of  the  Congress 
of  the  United  States,  accept  any  present,  emolument, 
office,  or  title  of  any  kind  whatever  from  any  king, 
queen,  prince,  or  foreign  State. 

That  excessive  bail  shall  not  be  required,  nor  excessive 
fines  imposed,  nor  cruel  and  unusual  punishment  in- 
flicted. 

That  the  right  to  be  secure  against  unreasonable 
searches  and  seizures  shall  not  be  violated. 

That  neither  slavery,  nor  involuntary  servitude,  ex- 
cept as  a  punishment  for  crime  whereof  the  party  shall 
have  been  duly  convicted,  shall  exist  in  said  islands. 

That  no  law  shall  be  passed  abridging  the  freedom  of 
speech  or  of  the  press,  or  the  right  of  the  people  peace- 
ably to  assemble  and  petition  the  Government  for  re- 
dress of  grievances. 

That  no  law  shall  be  made  respecting  an  establish- 
ment of  religion  or  prohibiting  the  free  exercise  thereof, 
and  that  the  free  exercise  and  enjoyment  of  religious 
profession  and  worship,  without  discrimination  or  pref- 
erence, shall  forever  be  allowed. 

That  no  money  shall  be  paid  out  of  the  treasury  except 
in  pursuance  of  an  appropriation  by  law. 


APPENDIX  C  277 

That  the  rule  of  taxation  in  said  islands  shall  be  uni- 
form. 

That  no  private  or  local  bill  which  may  be  enacted  into 
law  shall  embrace  more  than  one  subject,  and  that  sub- 
ject shall  be  expressed  in  the  title  of  the  bill. 

That  no  warrant  shall  issue  but  upon  probable  cause, 
supported  by  oath  or  affirmation,  and  particularly  de- 
scribing the  place  to  be  searched  and  the  person  or 
things  to  be  seized. 

That  all  money  collected  on  any  tax  levied  or  assessed 
for  a  special  purpose  shall  be  treated  as  a  special  fund  in 
the  treasury  and  paid  out  for  such  purpose  only. 

Sec.  6.  That  whenever  the  existing  insurrection  in 
the  Philippine  Islands  shall  have  ceased  and  a  condition 
of  general  and  complete  peace  ^  shall  have  been  estab- 
lished therein  and  the  fact  shall  be  certified  to  the  Presi- 
dent by  the  Philippine  Commission,  the  President,  upon 
being  satisfied  thereof,  shall  order  a  census®  of  the 
Philippine  Islands  to  be  taken  by  said  Philippine  Com- 
mission ;  such  census  in  its  inquiries  relating  to  the  popu- 
lation shall  take  and  make  so  far  as  practicable  full  re- 
port for  all  the  inhabitants,  of  name,  age,  sex,  race,  or 
tribe,  whether  native  or  foreign  born,  literacy  in 
Spanish,  native  dialect  or  language,  or  in  English,  school 
attendance,  ownership  of  homes,  industrial  and  social 
statistics,   and  such   other  information   separately  for 

5  See  Proclamation  of  President,  July  4,  1902  (amnesty)  as 
to  peace. 

6  Report  of  the  Philippine  Commission  for  1907,  Vol.  I,  pp. 
207-214,  gives  certificate  of  Philippine  Commission,  Order  of 
the  President  to  talie  census,  proclamations  of  Governor  Gen- 
eral concerning  taliing  of  census,  convening  of  Philippine 
Assembly,  etc. 


278      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

each  island,  each  province,  and  municipality,  or  other 
civil  division,  as  the  President  and  said  Commission  may 
deem  necessary:  Provided,  That  the  President  may, 
upon  the  request  of  said  Commission,  in  his  discretion, 
employ  the  service  of  the  Census  Bureau  in  compiling 
and  promulgating  the  statistical  information  above  pro- 
vided for,  and  may  commit  to  such  bureau  any  part  or 
portion  of  such  labor  as  to  him  may  seem  wise. 

Sec.  7.  That  two  years  after  the  completion  and  pub- 
lication of  the  census,  in  case  such  condition  of  general 
and  complete  peace  with  recognition  of  the  authority  of 
the  United  States  shall  have  continued  in  the  territory 
of  said  islands  not  inhabited  by  Moros  or  other  non- 
Christian  tribes  and  such  facts  shall  have  been  certified 
to  the  President  by  the  Philippine  Commission,  the 
President  upon  being  satisfied  thereof  shall  direct  said 
commission  to  call,  and  the  Commision  shall  call,  a  gen- 
eral election^  for  the  choice  of  delegates  to  a  popular 
assembly  of  the  people  of  said  territory  in  the  Philippine 
Islands,  which  shall  be  known  as  the  Philippine  Assem- 
bly. After  said  assembly  shall  have  convened  and  or- 
ganized, all  the  legislative  power  heretofore  conferred  on 
the  Philippine  Commission  in  all  that  part  of  said  is- 
lands not  inhabited  by  Moros  or  other  non-Christian 
tribes  shall  be  vested  in  a  legislature  consisting  of  two 
houses  —  The  Philippine  Commission  and  the  Philippine 
Assembly.  Said  assembly  shall  consist  of  not  less  than 
fifty  nor  more  than  one  hundred  members,  to  be  appor- 
tioned by  said  commission  among  the  provinces  as  nearly 
as  practicable  according  to  population :  Provided,  That 
no  province  shall  have  less  than  one  member :    And  pro- 

1  Act  No.  2045,  sec.  1,  of  Philippine  Legislature  amends. 


APPENDIX  C  279 

vided  further,  That  provinces  entitled  by  population  to 
more  than  one  member  may  be  divided  into  such  con- 
venient districts  as  the  said  Commission  may  deem  best. 

Public  notice  of  such  division  shall  be  given  at  least 
ninety  days  prior  to  such  election,  and  the  election  shall 
be  held  under  rules  and  regulations  to  be  prescribed  by 
law.  The  qualification  of  electors  in  such  election  shall 
be  the  same  as  is  now  provided  by  law  in  case  of  electors 
in  municipal  elections.  The  members  of  assembly  shall 
hold  office  for  two  years  from  the  first  day  of  January  * 
next  following  their  election,  and  their  successors  shall  be 
chosen  by  the  people  every  second  year  thereafter.  No 
person  shall  be  eligible  ^  to  such  election  who  is  not  a 
qualified  elector  of  the  election  district  in  which  he  may 
be  chosen,  owing  allegiance  to  the  United  States,  and 
twenty-five  years  of  age. 

{As  amended  by  Act  of  Congress  of  February  27, 
1909.)  The  legislature  shall  hold  annual  sessions,  com- 
mencing on  the  first  Monday  of  February  ^^  in  each  year 
and  continuing  not  exceeding  ninety  days  thereafter 
(Sundays  and  holidays  not  included)  and  the  first  meet- 
ing of  the  legislature  shall  be  held  upon  the  call  of  the 
governor  within  ninety  days  after  the  first  election: 
Provided,  That  the  Philippine  Legislature  after  its  first 
meeting  as  herein  provided  may  by  law  fix  a  date  other 
than  the  first  Monday  of  February  in  each  year  for  the 
commencement  of  its  annual  sessions :  ^"  And  provided 
further.  That  if  at  the  termination  of  any  session  the 

8  See  Act  of  Congress  of  February  15,  1911,  amending  sec.  7, 
p.  53. 

9  Act  No.  2045,  sec.  7,  of  Philippine  Legislature  amends. 

10  Act  No.  2114,  of  Philippine  Legislature  changes  date  to 
October  16. 


280      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

appropriations  necessary  for  the  support  of  government 
shall  not  have  been  made,  an  amount  equal  to  the  sums 
appropriated  in  the  last  appropriation  bills  for  such  pur- 
poses shall  be  deemed  to  be  appropriated ;  and  until  the 
legislature  shall  act  in  such  behalf  the  treasurer  may, 
with  the  advice  of  the  governor,  make  the  payments 
necessary  for  the  purposes  aforesaid.     [33  Stat.  L.,  659.] 

The  legislature  may  be  called  in  special  session  at  any 
time  by  the  civil  governor  for  general  legislation,  or  for 
action  on  such  specific  subjects  as  he  may  designate.  No 
special  session  shall  continue  longer  than  thirty  days,  ex- 
clusive of  Sundays. 

The  assembly  shall  be  the  judge  of  the  elections,  re- 
turns, and  qualifications  of  its  members.  A  majority 
shall  constitute  a  quorum  to  do  business,  but  a  smaller 
number  may  adjourn  from  day  to  day  and  may  be 
authorized  to  compel  the  attendance  of  absent  members. 
It  shall  choose  its  speaker  and  other  officers,  and  the 
salaries  of  its  members  and  officers  shall  be  fixed  by  law. 
It  may  determine  the  rule  of  its  proceedings,  punish  its 
members  for  disorderly  behavior,  and  with  the  concur- 
rence of  two  thirds  expel  a  member.  It  shall  keep  a 
journal  of  its  proceedings,  which  shall  be  published,  and 
the  yeas  and  nays  of  the  members  on  any  question  shall, 
on  the  demand  of  one  fifth  of  those  present,  be  entered 
on  the  journal. 

Sec.  8.  That  at  the  same  time  with  the  first  meeting 
of  the  Philippine  legislature,  and  biennially  thereafter, 
there  shall  be  chosen  by  said  legislature,  each  house 
voting  separately,  two  Resident  Commissioners  ^^  to  the 
United  States,  who  shall  be  entitled  to  an  official  recog- 

11  For  changie  of  tenure  of  office  to  four  years,  salary,  ex- 


APPENDIX  0  281 

nition  as  such  by  all  departments  upon  presentation  to 
the  President  of  a  certificate  of  election  by  the  civil 
governor  of  said  islands,  and  each  of  whom  shall  be  en- 
titled to  a  salary  payable  monthly  by  the  United  States 
at  the  rate  of  five  thousand  dollars  per  annum,  and  two 
thousand  dollars  additional  to  cover  all  expenses :  Pro- 
vided, That  no  person  shall  be  eligible  to  such  election 
who  is  not  a  qualified  elector  of  said  islands,  owing  alle- 
giance to  the  United  States,  and  who  is  not  thirty  years 
of  age. 

Sec.  9.  That  the  Supreme  Court  ^^  and  the  courts  of 
first  instance  of  the  Philippine  Islands  shall  possess  and 
exercise  jurisdiction  as  heretofore  provided  and  such 
additional  jurisdiction  as  shall  hereafter  be  prescribed 
by  the  Government  of  said  islands,  subject  to  the  power 
of  said  Government  to  change  the  practice  and  method 
of  procedure.  The  municipal  courts  of  said  islands  shall 
possess  and  exercise  jurisdiction  as  heretofore  provided 
by  the  Philippine  Commission,  subject  in  all  matters  to 
such  alteration  and  amendments  as  may  be  hereafter  en- 
acted by  law ;  and  the  chief  justice  and  associate  justices 
of  the  Supreme  Court  shall  hereafter  be  appointed  by 
the  President,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the 
Senate,  and  shall  receive  the  compensation  heretofore 

penses,  etc.,  act  of  Congress  of  February  15,  1911,  see  see.  2, 
p.  53. 

12  For  pay,  vacancies,  and  traveling  expenses  of  justices  of 
Supreme  Court,  act  of  Congress  of  February  6,  1905,  sec.  7, 
see  p.  G2. 

Supreme  Court  given  original  jurisdiction  in  actions  involv- 
ing railroad  construction  by  act  of  Congress  of  February  6, 
1905,  sec.  4,  par.  13,  see  p.  61. 

Terms  of  court  fixed  by  joint  resolution,  April  9,  1910,  see 
p.  56. 


282     THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

prescribed  by  the  Commission  until  otherwise  provided 
by  Congress.  The  judges  of  the  court  of  first  instance 
shall  be  appointed  by  the  civil  governor,  by  and  with 
the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Philippirfe  Commission: 
Provided,  That  the  admiralty  jurisdiction  of  the  Supreme 
Court  and  courts  of  first  instance  shall  not  be  changed 
except  by  act  of  Congress. 

Sec.  10.  That  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States 
shall  have  jurisdiction  to  review,  revise,  reverse,  modify, 
or  affirm  the  final  judgments  and  decrees  of  the  supreme 
court  of  the  Philippine  Islands  in  all  actions,  cases, 
causes,  and  proceedings  now  pending  therein  or  here- 
after determined  thereby  in  which  the  Constitution  or 
any  statute,  treaty,  title,  right,  or  privilege  of  the  United 
States  is  involved,  or  in  causes  in  which  the  value  in  con- 
troversy exceeds  twenty-five  thousand  dollars,  or  in 
which  the  title  or  possession  of  real  estate  exceeding  in 
value  the  sum  of  twenty-five  thousand  dollars,  to  be 
ascertain  by  the  oath  of  either  party  or  of  other  com- 
petent witnesses,  is  involved  or  brought  in  question ;  and 
such  final  judgments  or  decrees  may  and  can  be  reviewed, 
revised,  reversed,  modified,  or  affirmed  by  said  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States  on  appeal  or  writ  of  error  by 
the  party  aggrieved,  in  the  same  manner,  under  the  same 
regulations,  and  by  the  same  procedure,  as  far  as  appli- 
cable, as  the  final  judgments  and  decrees  of  the  circuit 
courts  of  the  United  States. 

Sec.  11.  That  the  Government  of  the  Philippine  Is- 
lands is  hereby  authorized  to  provide  for  the  needs  of 
commerce  by  improving  the  harbors  and  navigable 
waters  of  said  islands  and  to  construct  and  maintain  in 
said  navigable  waters  and  upon  the  shore  adjacent  thereto 


APPENDIX  C  283 

bonded  warehouses,  wharves,  piers,  light-houses,  signal 
and  life-saving  stations,  buoys,  and  like  instruments  of 
commerce,  and  to  adopt  and  enforce  regulations  in  re- 
gard thereto,  including  bonded  warehouses  wherein 
articles  not  intended  to  be  imported  into  said  islands  nor 
mingled  with  the  property  therein,  but  brought  into  a 
port  of  said  islands  for  reshipment  to  another  country, 
may  be  deposited  in  bond  and  reshipped  to  another 
country  without  the  payment  of  customs  duties  or 
charges. 

Sec.  12.  That  all  the  property  and  rights  which  may 
have  been  acquired  in  the  Philippine  Islands  by  the 
United  States  under  the  treaty  of  peace  with  Spain, 
signed  December  tenth,  eighteen  hundred  and  ninety 
eight,  except  such  land  or  other  property  as  shall  be 
designated  by  the  President  of  the  United  States  for  mili- 
tary and  other  reservations  of  the  Government  of  the 
United  States,  are  hereby  placed  under  the  control  of  the 
Government  of  said  Islands  to  be  administered  for  the 
benefit  of  the  inhabitants  thereof,  except  as  provided  in 
this  act. 

Sec.  13.  That  the  Government  of  the  Philippine  Is- 
lands, subject  to  the  provisions  of  this  act  and  except  as 
herein  provided,  shall  classify  according  to  its  agricul- 
tural character  and  productiveness,  and  shall  imme- 
diately make  rules  and  regulations  for  the  lease,  sale,  or 
other  disposition  of  the  public  lands  other  than  timber  or 
mineral  lands,  but  such  rules  and  regulations  shall  not 
go  into  effect  or  have  the  force  of  law  until  they  have 
received  the  approval  of  the  President  and  when  ap- 
proved by  the  President  they  shall  be  submitted  by  him 
to  Congress  at  the  beginning  of  the  next  ensuing  session 


284     THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

thereof  and  unless  disapproved  or  amended  by  Congress 
at  said  session  they  shall  at  the  close  of  such  period  have 
the  force  and  effect  of  law  in  the  Philippine  Islands: 
Provided,  That  a  single  homestead  entry  shall  not  ex- 
ceed sixteen  hectares  in  extent. 

Sec.  14.  That  the  Government  of  the  Philippine  Is- 
lands is  hereby  authorized  and  empowered  to  enact  rules 
and  regulations  ^^  and  to  prescribe  terms  and  conditions 
to  enable  persons  to  perfect  their  title  to  public  lands  in 
said  islands,  who,  prior  to  the  transfer  of  sovereignty 
from  Spain  to  the  United  States,  had  fulfilled  all  or  some 
of  the  conditions  required  by  the  Spanish  laws  and  royal 
decrees  of  the  Kingdom  of  Spain  for  the  acquisition  of 
legal  title  thereto  yet  failed  to  secure  conveyance  of 
title;  and  the  Philippine  Commission  is  authorized  to 
issue  patents,  without  compensation,  to  any  native  of 
said  islands,  conveying  title  to  any  tract  of  land  not  more 
than  sixteen  hectares  in  extent,  which  were  public  lands 
and  had  been  actually  occupied  by  such  native  or  his 
ancestors  prior  to  and  on  the  thirteenth  of  August, 
eighteen  hundred  and  ninety  eight. 

Sec.  15.  That  the  Government  of  the  Philippine  Is- 
lands is  hereby  authorized  and  empowered,  on  such  terms 
as  it  may  prescribe,  by  general  legislation,  to  provide  for 
the  granting  or  sale  and  conveyance  to  actual  occupants 
and  settlers  and  other  citizens  of  said  islands  such  parts 
and  portions  of  the  public  domain,  other  than  timber  and 
mineral  lands  of  the  United  States  in  said  islands  as  it 
may  deem  wise,  not  exceeding  sixteen  hectares  to  any 
one  person,  and  for  the  sale  and  conveyance  of  not  more 
than  one  thousand  and  twenty-four  hectares  to  any  cor- 

13  See  rules  and  regulations  issued  by  Pliilippine  Commission. 


APPENDIX  C  285 

poration  or  association  of  persons:  Provided:  That 
the  grant  or  sale  of  such  lands,  whether  the  purchase 
price  be  paid  at  once  or  in  partial  payments,  shall  be 
conditioned  upon  actual  and  continued  occupancy,  im- 
provement, and  cultivation  of  the  premises  sold  for  a 
period  of  not  less  than  Ifive  years,  during  which  time  the 
purchaser  or  grantee  can  not  alienate  or  encumber  said 
land  or  the  title  thereto;  but  such  restriction  shall  not 
apply  to  transfers  of  rights  and  title  of  inheritance  under 
the  laws  for  the  distribution  of  the  estates  of  dece- 
dents. 

Sec.  16.  That  in  granting  or  selling  any  part  of  the 
public  domain  under  the  provisions  of  the  last  preceding 
section,  preference  in  all  cases  shall  be  given  to  actual 
occupants  and  settlers;  and  such  public  lands  of  the 
United  States  in  the  actual  possession  or  occupancy  of 
any  native  of  the  Philippine  Islands  shall  not  be  sold  by 
said  Government  to  any  other  person  without  the  consent 
thereto  of  said  prior  occupant  or  settler  first  had  and  ob- 
tained: Provided,  That  the  prior  right  hereby  secured 
to  an  occupant  of  land,  who  can  show  no  other  proof  of 
title  than  possession,  shall  not  apply  to  more  than  sixteen 
hectares  in  one  tract. 

Sec.  17.  That  timber,  trees,  forests,  and  forest  prod- 
ucts on  lands  leased  or  demised  by  the  Government  of 
the  Philippine  Islands  under  the  provisions  of  this  act 
shall  not  be  cut,  destroyed,  removed,  or  appropriated  ex- 
cept by  special  permission  of  said  Government  and  under 
such  regulations  as  it  may  prescribe. 

All  moneys  obtained  from  lease  or  sale  of  any  portion 
of  the  public  domain  or  from  licenses  to  cut  timber  by 
the  Government  of  the  Philippine  Islands  shall  be  cov- 


286      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

ered  into  the  insular  treasury  and  be  subject  only 
to  appropriation  for  insular  purposes  according  to 
law. 

Sec.  18.  That  the  forest  laws  and  regulations  now  in 
force  in  the  Philippine  Islands,  with  such  modifications 
and  amendments  as  may  be  made  by  the  Government  of 
said  islands,  are  hereby  continued  in  force,  and  no  tim- 
ber lands  forming  part  of  the  public  domain  shall  be 
sold,  leased,  or  entered  until  the  Government  of  said  is- 
lands, upon  the  certification  of  the  forestry  bureau  that 
said  lands  are  more  valuable  for  agriculture  than  for 
forest  uses,  shall  declare  such  lands  so  certified  to  be  agri- 
cultural in  character:  Provided,  That  the  said  Govern- 
ment shall  have  the  right  and  is  hereby  empowered  to 
issue  licenses  to  cut,  harvest,  or  collect  timber  or  other 
forest  products  on  reserved  or  unreserved  public  lands 
in  said  islands  in  accordance  with  the  forest  laws  and 
regulations  hereintofore  mentioned  and  under  the  pro- 
visions of  this  act,  and  the  said  Government  may  lease 
land  to  any  person  or  persons  holding  such  licenses,  suf- 
ficient for  a  mill  site,  not  to  exceed  four  hectares  in  ex- 
tent, and  may  grant  rights  of  way  to  enable  such  person 
or  persons  to  get  access  to  the  lands  to  which  such  licenses 
apply. 

Sec.  19.  That  the  beneficial  use  shall  be  the  basis,  the 
measure,  and  the  limit  of  all  rights  to  water  in  said 
islands,  and  the  Government  of  said  islands  is  hereby  au- 
thorized to  make  such  rules  and  regulations  ^*  for  the  use 
of  water,  and  to  make  such  reservations  of  public  lands 
for  the  protection  of  the  water  supply,  and  for  other 

1*  For  these  rules  and  regulations,  see  Act  No.  2152  of  Philip- 
pine Legislature, 


APPENDIX  0  287 

public  purposes  not  in  conflict  with  the  provisions  of 
this  act,  as  it  may  deem  best  for  the  public  good. 

MINEBALi  LANDS 

Sec.  20,  That  in  all  eases  public  lands  in  the  Philip- 
pine Islands  valuable  for  minerals  shall  be  reserved  from 
sale,  except  as  otherwise  expressly  directed  by  law. 

Sec.  21.  That  all  valuable  mineral  deposits  in  public 
lands  in  the  Philippine  Islands,  both  surveyed  and  un- 
surveyed,  are  hereby  declared  to  be  free  and  open  to 
exploration,  occupation,  and  purchase,  and  the  land  in 
which  they  are  found  to  occupation  and  purchase,  by 
citizens  of  the  United  States,  or  of  said  islands:  Pro- 
vided, That  when  on  any  lands  of  said  islands  entered 
and  occupied  £is  agricultural  lands  under  the  provisions 
of  this  act,  but  not  patented,  mineral  deposits  have  been 
found,  the  working  of  such  mineral  deposits  is  hereby 
forbidden  until  the  person,  association,  or  corporation 
who  or  which  has  entered  and  is  occupying  such  lands 
shall  have  paid  to  the  Government  of  said  islands  such 
additional  sum  or  sums  as  will  make  the  total  amount 
paid  for  the  mineral  claims  or  claims  in  which  said  de- 
posits are  located  equal  to  the  amount  charged  by  the 
Government  for  the  same  mineral  claims. 

Sec.  22  {as  amended  hy  Sec.  9,  Act  of  Congress  of 
February  6,  1905).  That  mining  claims  upon  land  con- 
taining  veins  or  lodes  of  quartz  or  other  rock  in  place- 
bearing  gold,  silver,  cinnabar,  lead,  tin,  copper,  or  other 
valuable  deposits  located  after  the  passage  of  this  act, 
whether  located  by  one  or  more  persons  qualified  to  lo- 
cate the  same  under  the  preceding  section,  shall  be  lo- 
cated in  the  following  manner  and  under  the  following 


288      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

conditions:  Any  person  so  qualified  desiring  to  locate 
a  mineral  claim  shall,  subject  to  the  provisions  of  this 
act  with  respect  to  land  which  may  be  used  for  mining, 
enter  upon  the  same  and  locate  a  plat  of  ground  meas- 
uring, where  possible,  but  not  exceeding  three  hundred 
meters  in  length  by  three  hundred  meters  in  breadth, 
in  as  nearly  as  possible  a  rectangular  form;  that  is  to 
say,  all  angles  shall  be  right  angles,  except  in  cases  where 
a  boundary  line  of  a  previously  surveyed  claim  is 
adopted  as  common  to  both  claims,  but  the  lines  need  not 
necessarily  be  meridional.  In  defining  the  size  of  a  min- 
eral claim  it  shall  be  measured  horizontally,  irrespective 
of  inequalities  of  the  surface  of  the  ground. 

Sec.  23  {as  amended  hy  Sec.  9,  Act  of  Congress  of  Feb- 
ruary 6,  1905).  That  a  mineral  claim  shall  be  marked 
by  two  posts,  placed  as  nearly  as  possible  on  the  line  of 
the  ledge  or  vein,  and  the  posts  shall  be  numbered  one 
and  two,  and  the  distance  between  posts  numbered  one 
and  two  shall  not  exceed  three  hundred  meters,  the  line 
between  posts  numbered  one  and  two  to  be  known  as  the 
location  line;  and  upon  posts  numbered  one  and  two 
shall  be  written  the  name  given  to  the  mineral  claim,  the 
name  of  the  locator,  and  the  date  of  the  location.  Upon 
post  numbered  one  there  shall  be  written,  in  addition  to 
the  foregoing,  "  Initial  post,"  the  approximate  compass 
bearing  of  post  numbered  two,  and  a  statement  of  the 
number  of  meters  lying  to  the  right  and  to  the  left  of  the 
line  from  post  numbered  one  to  post  numbered  two, 
thus:     **  Initial  post.    Direction  of  post  numbered  two 

meters  of  this  claim  lie  on  the  right  and 
meters  on  the  left  of  the  line  from  number  one  to  num- 
ber two  post."    All  the  particulars  required  to  be  put  on 


APPENDIX  0  289 

number  one  and  number  two  posts  shall  be  furnished  by 
the  locator  to  the  provincial  secretary,  or  such  other  ofiB- 
cer  as  by  the  Philippine  Government  may  be  described, 
as  mining  recorder,  in  writing,  at  the  time  the  claim  is 
recorded,  and  shall  form  a  part  of  the  record  of  such 
claim. 

Sec.  24  (as  amended  hy  Sec.  9,  Act. of  Congress  of  Feb- 
ruary 6,  1905).  That  when  a  claim  has  been  located  the 
holder  shall  immediately  mark  the  line  between  posts 
numbered  one  and  two  so  that  it  can  be  distinctly  seen. 
The  locator  shall  also  place  a  post  at  the  point  where  he 
has  found  minerals  in  place,  on  which  shall  be  written 
* '  Discovery  Post  ' ' :  Provided,  That  when  the  claim  is 
surveyed  the  surveyor  shall  be  guided  by  the  records  of 
the  claim,  the  sketch  plan  on  the  back  of  the  declaration 
made  by  the  owner  when  the  claim  was  recorded,  posts 
numbered  one  and  two,  and  the  notice  on  number  one, 
the  initial  post. 

Sec.  25  {as  amended  hy  Sec.  9,  Act  of  Congress  of  Feb- 
ruary 6, 1905) .  That  it  shall  not  be  lawful  to  move  num- 
ber one  post,  but  number  two  post  may  be  moved  by  the 
deputy  mineral  surveyor  when  the  distance  between 
posts  numbered  one  and  two  exceeds  three  hundred 
meters,  in  order  to  place  number  two  post  three  hundred 
meters  from  number  one  post  on  the  line  of  location. 
"When  the  distance  between  posts  numbered  one  and  two 
is  less  than  three  hundred  meters,  the  deputy  mineral 
surveyor  shall  have  no  authority  to  extend  the  claim  be- 
yond number  two. 

Sec.  26.  That  the  "  location  line  "  shall  govern  the  di- 
rection of  one  side  of  the  claim,  upon  which  the  survey 
shall  be  extended  according  to  this  act. 


290      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

Sec.  27.  That  the  holder  of  a  mineral  claim  shall  be 
entitled  to  all  minerals  which  may  lie  within  his  claim, 
but  he  shall  not  be  entitled  to  mine  outside  the  boundary 
lines  of  his  claim  continued  vertically  downward :  Pro- 
vided, That  this  act  shall  not  prejudice  the  rights  of  claim 
owners  nor  claim  holders  whose  claims  have  been  located 
under  existing  laws  prior  to  this  act. 

Sec.  28.  That  no  mineral  claim  of  the  full  size  shall  be 
recorded  without  the  application  being  accompanied  by 
an  affidavit  made  by  the  applicant  or  some  person  on  his 
behalf  cognizant  of  the  facts  —  that  the  legal  notices  and 
posts  have  been  put  up;  that  mineral  has  been  found 
in  place  on  the  claim  proposed  to  be  recorded;  that  the 
ground  applied  for  is  unoccupied  by  any  other  person. 
In  the  said  declaration  shall  be  set  out  the  name  of  the 
applicant  and  the  date  of  the  location  of  the  claim.  The 
words  written  on  the  number  one  and  number  two  posts 
shall  be  set  out  in  full,  and  as  accurate  a  description  as 
possible  of  the  position  of  the  claim  given  with  reference 
to  some  natural  object  or  permanent  monuments. 

Sec.  29  {as  amended  hy  Sec.  9,  Act  of  Congress  of  Feh- 
ruary  6,  1905).  That  no  mineral  claim  which,  at  the  date 
of  its  record,  is  known  by  the  locator  to  be  less  than  a 
full-sized  mineral  claim,  shall  be  recorded  without  the 
word  "  fraction  "  being  added  to  the  name  of  the  claim, 
and  the  application  being  accompanied  by  an  affidavit 
or  solemn  declaration  made  by  the  applicant  or  some 
person  on  his  behalf  cognizant  of  the  facts:  That  the 
legal  posts  and  notices  have  been  put  up;  that  mineral 
has  been  found  in  place  on  the  fractional  claim  proposed 
to  be  recorded ;  that  the  ground  applied  for  is  unoccupied 
by  any  other  person.    In  the  said  declaration  shall  be  set 


APPENDIX  C  291 

out  the  name  of  the  applicant  and  the  date  of  the  location 
of  the  claim.  The  words  written  on  the  posts  numbered 
one  and  two  shall  be  set  out  in  full,  and  as  accurate  a 
description  as  possible  of  the  position  of  the  claim  given. 
A  sketch  plan  shall  be  drawn  by  the  applicant  on  the 
back  of  the  declaration,  showing  as  near  as  may  be  the 
position  of  the  adjoining  mineral  claims  and  the  shape 
and  size,  expressed  in  meters,  of  the  claim  or  fraction 
desired  to  be  recorded:  Provided,  That  the  failure  on 
the  part  of  the  locator  of  a  mineral  claim  to  comply  with 
any  of  the  foregoing  provisions  of  this  section  shall  not 
be  deemed  to  invalidate  such  location  if,  upon  the  facts, 
it  shall  appear  that  such  locator  has  actually  discov- 
ered mineral  in  place  on  said  location  and  that  there  has 
been  on  his  part  a  bona  fide  attempt  to  comply  with  the 
provisions  of  this  act,  and  that  the  nonobservance  of  the 
formalites  hereinbefore  referred  to  is  not  of  a  character 
calculated  to  mislead  other  persons  desiring  to  locate 
claims  in  the  vicinity. 

Sec.  30.  That  in  cases  where,  from  the  nature  or 
shape  of  the  ground,  it  is  impossible  to  mark  the  loca- 
tion line  of  the  claim  as  provided  by  this  act  then  the 
claim  may  be  marked  by  placing  posts  as  nearly  as  possi- 
ble to  the  location  line,  and  noting  the  distance  and  di- 
rection such  posts  may  be  from  such  location  line,  which 
distance  and  direction  shall  be  set  out  in  the  record  of 
the  claim. 

Sec.  31  (as  amended  hy  Sec.  9,  Act  of  Congress  of  Feb- 
ruary 6,  1905).  That  every  person  locating  a  mineral 
claim  shall  record  the  same  with  the  provincial  secretary, 
or  such  other  oflficer  as  by  the  Government  of  the  Philip- 
pine Islands  may  be  described  as  mining  recorder  of 


292      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

the  district  within  which  the  same  is  situate,  within 
thirty  days  after  the  location  thereof.  Such  record  shall 
be  made  in  a  book  to  be  kept  for  the  purpose  in  the  office 
of  the  said  provincial  secretary  or  such  other  officer  as 
by  said  government  described  as  mining  recorder,  in 
which  shall  be  inserted  the  name  of  the  claim,  the  name 
of  each  locator,  the  locality  of  the  mine,  the  direction  of 
the  location  line,  the  length  in  meters,  the  date  of  loca- 
tion, and  the  date  of  the  record.  A  claim  which  shall 
not  have  been  recorded  within  the  prescribed  period  shall 
be  deemed  to  have  been  abandoned. 

Sec.  32.  That  in  case  of  any  dispute  as  to  the  location 
of  a  mineral  claim  the  title  to  the  claim  shall  be  recog- 
nized according  to  the  priority  of  such  location,  subject 
to  any  question  as  to  the  validity  of  the  record  itself  and 
subject  to  the  holder  having  complied  with  all  the  terms 
and  conditions  of  this  act. 

Sec.  33.  That  no  holder  shall  be  entitled  to  hold  in 
his,  its,  or  their  own  name  or  in  the  name  of  any  other 
person,  corporation,  or  association  more  than  one  mineral 
claim  on  the  same  vein  or  lode. 

Sec.  34.  That  a  holder  may  at  any  time  abandon  any 
mineral  claim  by  giving  notice,  in  writing,  of  such  inten- 
tion to  abandon,  to  the  provincial  secretary  or  such  other 
officer  as  by  the  Government  of  the  Philippine  Islands 
may  be  described  as  mining  recorder ;  and  from  the  date 
of  the  record  of  such  notice  all  his  interest  in  such  claim 
shall  cease. 

Sec.  35.  That  proof  of  citizenship  under  the  clauses 
of  this  act  relating  to  mineral  lands  may  consist,  in  the 
case  of  an  individual,  of  his  own  affidavit  thereof ;  in  the 
case   of   an   association   of  persons  unincorporated,   of 


APPENDIX  C  293 

the  affidavit  of  their  authorized  agent,  made  on  his  own 
knowledge  or  upon  information  and  belief;  and  in  the 
case  of  a  corporation  organized  under  the  laws  of  the 
United  States,  or  of  any  State  or  Territory  thereof,  or 
of  the  Philippine  Islands,  by  the  filing  of  a  certified  copy 
of  their  charter  or  certificate  of  incorporation. 

Sec.  36  {as  amended  hy  Sec.  9,  Act  of  Congress  of 
February  6,  1905).  That  the  United  States  Philippine 
Commission  or  its  successors  may  make  regulations,  not 
in  conflict  with  the  provisions  of  this  act,  governing  the 
location,  manner  of  recording,  and  amount  of  work  nec- 
essary to  hold  possession  of  a  mining  claim,  subject  to  the 
following  requirements : 

On  each  claim  located  after  the  passage  of  this  act, 
and  until  a  patent  has  been  issued  therefor,  not  less  than 
two  hundred  pesos'  worth  of  labor  shall  be  performed  or 
improvements  made  during  each  year:  Provided,  That 
upon  a  failure  to  comply  with  these  conditions  the  claim 
or  mine  upon  which  such  failure  occurred  shall  be  open 
to  relocation  in  the  same  manner  as  if  no  location  of  the 
same  had  ever  been  made,  provided  that  the  original 
locators,  their  heirs,  assigns,  or  legal  representatives  have 
not  resumed  work  upon  the  claim  after  failure  and  be- 
fore such  location.  Upon  the  failure  of  any  one  of  sev- 
eral coowners  to  contribute  his  proportion  of  the  ex- 
penditures required  thereby,  the  coowners  who  have 
performed  the  labor  or  made  the  improvements  may,  at 
the  expiration  of  the  year,  give  such  delinquent  co- 
owners  personal  notice  in  writing,  or  notice  by  publica- 
tion in  the  newspaper  published  nearest  the  claim,  and 
in  two  newspapers  published  at  Manila,  one  in  the  Eng- 
lish language  and  the  other  in  the  Spanish  language,  to 


294      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

be  designated  by  the  chief  of  the  Philippine  insular  bu- 
reau of  public  lands,  for  at  least  once  a  week  for  ninety 
days,  and  if,  at  the  expiration  of  ninety  days  after  such 
notice  in  writing  or  by  publication,  such  delinquent  shall 
fail  or  refuse  to  contribute  his  proportion  of  the  expendi- 
ture required  by  this  section,  his  interest  in  the  claim  shall 
become  the  property  of  his  coowners  who  have  made  the 
required  expenditures.  The  period  within  which  the 
work  required  to  be  done  annually  on  all  unpatented 
mineral  claims  shall  commence  on  the  first  day  of  January 
succeeding  the  date  of  location  of  such  claim. 

Sec.  37  (as  amended  hy  Sec.  9,  Act  of  Congress  of 
February  6,  1905).  That  a  patent  for  any  land  claimed 
and  located  for  valuable  mineral  deposits  may  be  obtained 
in  the  following  manner:  Any  person,  association,  or 
corporation  authorized  to  locate  a  claim  under  this  act, 
having  claimed  and  located  a  piece  of  land  for  such  pur- 
poses, who  has  or  have  complied  with  the  terms  of  this 
act,  may  file  in  the  office  of  the  provincial  secretary,  or 
such  other  officer  as  by  the  Government  of  said  islands 
may  be  described  as  mining  recorder  of  the  province 
wherein  the  land  claimed  is  located,  an  application  for  a 
patent,  under  oath,  showing  such  compliance,  together 
with  a  plat  and  field  notes  of  the  claim  or  claims  in 
common,  made  by  or  under  the  direction  of  the  chief  of 
the  Philippine  insular  bureau  of  public  lands,  showing 
accurately  the  boundaries  of  the  claim,  which  shall  be 
distinctly  marked  by  monuments  on  the  ground,  and 
shall  post  a  copy  of  such  plat,  together  with  a  notice  of 
such  application  for  a  patent,  in  a  conspicuous  place  on 
the  land  embraced  in  such  plat  previous  to  the  filing  of 
the  application  for  a  patent,  and  shall  file  an  affidavit  of 


APPENDIX  C  295 

at  least  two  persons  that  such  notice  has  been  duly 
posted,  and  shall  file  a  copy  of  the  notice  in  such  office, 
and  shall  thereupon  be  entitled  to  a  patent  for  the  lands, 
in  the  manner  following:  The  provincial  secretary,  or 
such  other  officer  as  by  the  Philippine  Government  may 
be  described  as  mining  recorder,  upon  the  filing  of  such 
application,  plat,  field  notes,  notices,  and  affidavits,  shall 
publish  a  notice  that  such  an  application  has  been  made, 
once  a  week  for  the  period  of  sixty  days,  in  a  newspaper 
to  be  by  him  designated  as  nearest  to  such  claim,  and  in 
two  newspapers  published  at  Manila,  one  in  the  English 
language  and  one  in  the  Spanish  language,  to  be  desig- 
nated by  the  chief  of  the  Philippine  insular  bureau  of 
public  lands;  and  he  shall  also  post  such  notice  in  his 
office  for  the  same  period.  The  claimant  at  the  time  of 
filing  this  application,  or  at  any  time  thereafter  within 
the  sixty  days  of  publication,  shall  file  with  the  provincial 
secretary,  or  such  other  officer  as  by  the  Philippine  Gov- 
ernment may  be  described  as  mining  recorder,  a  certifi- 
cate of  the  chief  of  the  Philippine  insular  bureau  of 
public  lands  that  one  thousand  pesos'  worth  of  labor  has 
been  expended  or  improvements  made  upon  the  claim 
by  himself  or  grantors ;  that  the  plat  is  correct,  with  such 
further  description  by  such  reference  to  natural  objects 
or  permanent  monuments  as  shall  identify  the  claim, 
and  furnish  an  accurate  description  to  be  incorporated  in 
the  patent.  At  the  expiration  of  the  sixty  days  of  pub- 
lication the  claimant  shall  file  his  affidavit,  showing  that 
the  plat  and  notice  have  been  posted  in  a  conspicuous 
place  on  the  claim  during  such  period  of  publication.  If 
no  adverse  claim  shall  have  been  filed  with  the  provincial 
secretary,  or  such  other  officer  as  by  the  Government  of 


296      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

said  islands  may  be  described  as  mining  recorder,  at  the 
expiration  of  the  sixty  days  of  publication,  it  shall  be 
assumed  that  the  applicant  is  entitled  to  a  patent  upon 
the  payment  to  the  provincial  treasurer,  or  the  collector 
of  internal  revenue,  of  twenty-five  pesos  per  hectare,  and 
that  no  adverse  claim  exists ;  and  thereafter  no  objection 
from  third  parties  to  the  issuance  of  a  patent  shall  be 
heard,  except  it  be  shown  that  the  applicant  has  failed 
to  comply  with  the  terms  of. this  act:  Provided,  That 
where  the  claimant  for  a  patent  is  not  a  resident  of  or 
within  the  province  wherein  the  land  containing  the 
vein,  ledge,  or  deposit  sought  to  be  patented  is  located, 
the  application  for  patent  and  the  affidavits  required  to 
be  made  in  this  section  by  the  claimant  for  such  patent 
may  be  made  by  his,  her,  or  its  authorized  agent  where 
said  agent  is  conversant  with  the  facts  sought  to  be. es- 
tablished by  said  affidavits. 

Sec.  38.  That  applicants  for  mineral  patents,  if  resid- 
ing beyond  the  limits  of  the  province  or  military  depart- 
ment wherein  the  claim  is  situated,  may  make  the  oath 
or  affidavit  required  for  proof  of  citizenship  before  the 
clerk  of  any  court  of  record,  or  before  any  notary  public 
of  any  province  of  the  Philippine  Islands,  or  any  other 
official  in  said  islands  authorized  by  law  to  administer 
oaths. 

Sec.  39  {as  amended  hy  Sec.  9,  Act  of  Congress  of 
February  6, 1905).  That  where  an  adverse  claim  is  filed 
during  the  period  of  publication  it  shall  be  upon  oath  of 
the  person  or  persons  making  the  same,  and  shall  show 
the  nature,  boundaries,  and  extent  of  such  adverse  claim, 
and  all  proceedings,  except  the  publication  of  notice  and 
making  and  filing  of  the  affidavits  thereof,  shall  be  stayed 


APPENDIX  C  297 

until  the  controversy  shall  have  been  settled  or  decided 
by  a  court  of  competent  jurisdiction  or  the  adverse  claim 
waived.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  adverse  claimant, 
within  thirty  days  after  filing  his  claim,  to  commence 
proceedings  in  a  court  of  competent  jurisdiction  to  deter- 
mine the  question  of  the  right  of  possession  and  prose- 
cute the  same  with  reasonable  diligence  to  final  judg- 
ment, and  a  failure  so  to  do  shall  be  a  waiver  of  his  ad- 
verse claim.  After  such  judgment  shall  have  been  ren- 
dered the  party  entitled  to  the  possession  of  the  claim, 
or  any  portion  thereof,  may,  without  giving  further  no- 
tice, file  a  certified  copy  of  the  judgment  roll  with  the 
provincial  secretary,  or  such  other  officer  as  by  the  Gov- 
ernment of  the  Philippine  Islands  may  be  described  as 
mining  recorder,  together  with  the  certificate  of  the  chief 
of  the  Philippine  insular  bureau  of  public  lands  that  the 
requisite  amount  of  labor  has  been  expended  or  improve- 
ments made  thereon,  and  the  description  required  in 
other  cases,  and  shall  pay  to  the  provincial  treasurer  or 
the  collector  of  internal  revenue  of  the  province  in  which 
the  claim  is  situated,  as  the  case  may  be,  twenty-five 
pesos  per  hectare  for  his  claim,  together  with  the  proper 
fees,  whereupon  the  whole  proceedings  and  the  judgment 
roll  shall  be  certified  by  the  provincial  secretary,  or  such 
other  officer  as  by  said  Government  may  be  described  as 
mining  recorder,  to  the  secretary  of  the  interior  of  the 
Philippine  Islands,  and  a  patent  shall  issue  thereon  for 
the  claim,  or  such  portion  thereof  as  the  applicant  shall 
appear,  from  the  decision  of  the  court,  rightly  to  possess. 
The  adverse  claim  may  be  verified  by  the  oath  of  any 
duly  authorized  agent  or  attorney  in  fact  of  the  adverse 
claimant  cognizant  of  the  facts  stated;  and  the  adverse 


298      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

claimant,  if  residing  or  at  the  time  being  beyond  the 
limits  of  the  province  wherein  the  claim  is  situated,  may 
make  oath  to  the  adverse  claim  before  the  clerk  of  any 
court  of  record,  or  any  notary  public  of  any  province  or 
military  department  of  the  Philippine  Islands,  or  any 
other  officer  authorized  to  administer  oaths  where  the  ad- 
verse claimant  may  then  be.  If  it  appears  from  the  de- 
cision of  the  court  that  several  parties  are  entitled  to 
separate  and  different  portions  of  the  claim,  each  party 
may  pay  for  his  portion  of  the  claim,  with  the  proper 
fees,  and  file  the  certificate  and  description  by  the  chief 
of  the  Philippine  insular  bureau  of  public  lands,  where- 
upon the  provincial  secretary  or  such  other  officer  as  by 
the  Government  of  said  islands  may  be  described  as  min- 
ing recorder  shall  certify  the  proceedings  and  judgment 
roll  to  the  secretary  of  the  interior  for  the  Philippine 
Islands,  as  in  the  preceding  case,  and  patents  shall  issue 
to  the  several  parties  according  to  their  respective  rights. 
If,  in  any  action  brought  pursuant  to  this  section,  title 
to  the  ground  in  controversy  shall  not  be  established  by 
either  party,  the  court  shall  so  find,  and  judgment  shall 
be  entered  accordingly.  In  such  case  cost's  shall  not  be 
allowed  to  either  party,  and  the  claimant  shall  not  pro- 
ceed in  the  office  of  the  provincial  secretary  or  such 
other  officer  as  by  the  Government  of  said  islands  may 
be  described  as  mining  recorder  or  be  entitled  to  a  pat- 
ent for  the  ground  in  controversy  until  he  shall  have 
perfected  his  title.  Nothing  herein  contained  shall  be 
construed  to  prevent  the  alienation  of  a  title  conveyed 
by  a  patent  for  a  mining  claim  to  any  person  whatever. 
Sec.  40.  That  the  description  of  mineral  claims  upon 
surveyed  lands  shall  designate  the  location  of  the  claim 


APPENDIX  C  299 

with  reference  to  the  lines  of  the  public  surveys,  but  need 
not  conform  therewith;  but  where  a  patent  shall  be 
issued  for  claims  upon  unsurveyed  lands  the  chief  of  the 
Philippine  insular  bureau  of  public  lands  in  extending 
the  surveys  shall  adjust  the  same  to  the  boundaries  of 
such  patented  claim  according  to  the  plat  or  description 
thereof,  but  so  as  in  no  case  to  interfere  with  or  change 
the  location  of  any  such  patented  claim. 

Sec.  41.  That  any  person  authorized  to  enter  lands 
under  this  act  may  enter  and  obtain  patent  to  lands  that 
are  chiefly  valuable  for  building  stone  under  the  provi- 
sions of  this  act  relative  to  placer  mineral  claims. 

Sec.  42.  That  any  person  authorized  to  enter  lands 
under  this  act  may  enter  and  obtain  patent  to  lands  con- 
taining petroleum  or  other  mineral  oils  and  chiefly  valu- 
able therefor  under  the  provisions  of  this  act  relative  to 
placer  mineral  claims. 

Sec.  43.  That  no  location  of  a  placer  claim  shall  ex- 
ceed sixty-four  hectares  for  any  association  of  persons, 
irrespective  of  the  number  of  persons  composing  such 
association,  and  no  such  location  shall  include  more  than 
eight  hectares  for  an  individual  claimant.  Such  loca- 
tions shall  conform  to  the  laws  of  the  United  States 
Philippine  Commission,  or  its  successors,  with  reference 
to  public  surveys,  and  nothing  in  this  section  contained 
shall  defeat  or  impair  any  bona  fide  ownership  of  land 
for  agricultural  purposes  or  authorize  the  sale  of  the  im- 
provements of  any  bona  fide  settler  to  any  purchaser. 

Sec.  44.  That  where  placer  claims  are  located  upon 
surveyed  lands  and  conform  to  legal  subdivisions,  no 
further  survey  or  plat  shall  be  required,  and  all  placer 
mining  claims  located  after  the  date  of  passage  of  this 


300      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

act  shall  conform  as  nearly  as  practicable  to  the  Philip- 
pine system  of  public-land  surveys  and  the  regular  sub- 
division of  such  surveys;  but  where  placer  claims  can 
not  be  conformed  to  legal  subdivisions,  survey  and  plat 
shall  be  made  as  on  unsurveyed  lands ;  and  where  by  the 
segregation  of  mineral  lands  in  any  legal  subdivision  a 
quantity  of  agricultural  land  less  than  sixteen  hectares 
shall  remain,  such  fractional  portion  of  agricultural  land 
may  be  entered  by  any  party  qualified  by  law  for  home- 
stead purposes. 

Sec.  45.  That  where  such  person  or  association,  they 
and  their  grantors,  have  held  and  worked  their  claims  for 
a  period  equal  to  the  time  prescribed  by  the  statute  of 
limitations  of  the  Philippine  Islands,  evidence  of  such 
possession  and  working  of  the  claims  for  such  period 
shall  be  sufficient  to  establish  a  right  to  a  patent  thereto 
under  this  act,  in  the  absence  of  any  adverse  claim ;  but 
nothing  in  this  act  shall  be  deemed  to  impair  any  lien 
which  may  have  attached  in  any  way  whatever  prior  to 
the  issuance  of  a  patent. 

Sec.  46.  That  the  chief  of  the  Philippine  insular  bu- 
reau of  public  lands  may  appoint  competent  deputy 
mineral  surveyors  to  survey  mining  claims.  The  ex- 
penses of  the  survey  of  vein  or  lode  claims  and  of  the 
survey  of  placer  claims,  together  with  the  cost  of  publi- 
cation of  notices,  shall  be  paid  by  the  applicants,  and 
they  shall  be  at  liberty  to  obtain  the  same  at  the  most 
reasonable  rates,  and  they  shall  also  be  at  liberty  to  em- 
ploy any  such  deputy  mineral  surveyor  to  make  the  sur- 
vey. The  chief  of  the  Philippine  insular  bureau  of  pub- 
lic lands  shall  also  have  power  to  establish  the  maximum 
charges  for  surveys  and  publication  of  notices  under  this 


APPENDIX  C  301 

act;  and  in  case  of  excessive  charges  for  publication  he 
may  designate  any  newspaper  published  in  a  province 
where  mines  are  situated,  or  in  Manila,  for  the  publica- 
tion of  mining  notices  and  fix  the  rates  to  be  charged  by 
such  paper ;  and  to  the  end  that  the  chief  of  the  bureau 
of  public  lands  may  be  fully  informed  on  the  subject 
such  applicant  shall  file  with  the  provincial  secretary  or 
such  other  officer  as  by  the  Government  of  the  Philip- 
pine Islands  may  be  described  as  mining  recorder,  a 
sworn  statement  of  all  charges  and  fees  paid  by  such 
applicant  for  publication  and  surveys,  and  of  all  fees 
and  money  paid  the  provincial  treasurer  or  the  collector 
of  internal  revenue,  as  the  case  may  be,  which  statement 
shall  be  transmitted  with  the  other  papers  in  the  case,  to 
the  secretary  of  the  interior  for  the  Philippine  Islands. 
Sec.  47.  That  all  affidavits  required  to  be  made  under 
this  act  may  be  verified  before  any  officer  authorized  to 
administer  oaths  within  the  province  or  military  depart- 
ment where  the  claims  may  be  situated,  and  all  testimony 
and  proofs  may  be  taken  before  any  such  officer,  and, 
when  duly  certified  by  the  officer  taking  the  same,  shall 
have  the  same  force  and  effect  as  if  taken  before  the 
proper  provincial  secretary  or  such  other  officer  as  by 
the  Government  of  the  Philippine  Islands  may  be  de- 
scribed as  mining  recorder.  In  cases  of  contest  as  to  the 
mineral  or  agricultural  character  of  land  the  testimony 
and  proofs  may  be  taken  as  herein  provided  on  personal 
notice  of  at  least  ten  days  to  the  opposing  party;  or  if 
such  party  can  not  be  found,  then  by  publication  at 
least  once  a  week  for  thirty  days  in  a  newspaper  to  be 
designated  by  the  provincial  secretary  or  such  other 
officer  as  by  said  Government  may  be  described  as  min- 


302      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

ing  recorder  published  nearest  to  the  location  of  such 
land  and  in  two  newspapers  published  in  Manila,  one  in 
the  English  language  and  one  in  the  Spanish  language, 
to  be  designated  by  the  chief  of  the  Philippine  insular 
bureau  of  public  lands;  and  the  provincial  secretary  or 
such  other  officer  as  by  said  Government  may  be  de- 
scribed as  mining  recorder  shall  require  proofs  that  such 
notice  has  been  given. 

Sec.  48.  That  where  nonmineral  land  not  contiguous 
to  the  vein  or  lode  is  used  or  occupied  by  the  proprietor 
of  such  vein  or  lode  for  mining  or  milling  purposes,  such 
nonadjacent  surface  ground  may  be  embraced  and  in- 
cluded in  an  application  for  a  patent  for  such  vein  or 
lode,  and  the  same  may  be  patented  therewith,  subject 
to  the  same  preliminary  requirements  as  to  survey  and 
notice  as  are  applicable  to  veins  or  lodes ;  but  no  location 
of  such  nonadjacent  land  shall  exceed  two  hectares,  and 
payment  for  the  same  must  be  made  at  the  same  rate  as 
fixed  by  this  act  for  the  superficies  of  the  lode.  The 
owner  of  a  quartz  mill  or  reduction  works  not  owning  a 
mine  in  connection  therewith  may  also  receive  a  patent 
for  his  mill  site  as  provided  in  this  section. 

Sec.  49.  That  as  a  condition  of  sale  the  government 
of  the  Philippine  Islands  may  provide  rules  for  working, 
policing,  and  sanitation  of  mines,  and  rules  concerning 
easements,  drainage,  water  rights,  right  of  way,  right  of 
government  survey  and  inspection,  and  other  necessary 
means  to  their  complete  development  not  inconsistent 
with  the  provisions  of  this  act,  and  those  conditions  shall 
be  fully  expressed  in  the  patent.  The  Philippine  Com- 
mission or  its  successors  are  hereby  further  empowered 
to  fix  the  bonds  of  deputy  mineral  surveyors. 


APPENDIX  C  303 

Sec.  50.  That  whenever  by  priority  of  possession 
rights  to  the  use  of  water  for  mining,  agricultural,  man- 
ufacturing, or  other  purposes  have  vested  and  accrued 
and  the  same  are  recognized  and  acknowledged  by  the 
local  customs,  laws,  and  the  decisions  of  courts,  the  pos- 
sessors and  owners  of  such  vested  rights  shall  be  main- 
tained and  protected  in  the  same,  and  the  right  of  way 
for  the  construction  of  ditches  and  canals  for  the  pur- 
poses herein  specified  is  acknowledged  and  confirmed,  but 
whenever  any  person,  in  the  construction  of  any  ditch 
or  canal,  injures  or  damages  the  possession  of  any  settler 
on  the  public  domain,  the  party  committing  such  injury 
or  damage  shall  be  liable  to  the  party  injured  for  such 
injury  or  damage. 

Sec.  51.  That  all  patents  granted  shall  be  subject  to 
any  vested  and  accrued  water  rights,  or  rights  to  ditches 
and  reservoirs  used  in  connection  with  such  water  rights 
as  may  have  been  acquired  under  or  recognized  by  the 
preceding  section. 

Sec.  52.  That  the  Government  of  the  Philippine  Is- 
lands is  authorized  to  establish  land  districts  and  provide 
for  the  appointment  of  the  necessary  officers  wherever 
they  may  deem  the  same  necessary  for  the  public  con- 
venience, and  to  further  provide  that  in  districts  where 
land  offices  are  established  proceedings  required  by  this 
act  to  be  had  before  provincial  officers  shall  be  had  be- 
fore the  proper  officers  of  such  land  offices. 

Sec,  53  {as  amended  hy  Sec.  9,  Act  of  Congress  of 
February  6,  1905).  That  every  person  above  the  age  of 
twenty-one  years  who  is  a  citizen  of  the  United  States  or 
of  the  Philippine  Islands,  or  who  has  acquired  the  right 
of  a  native  of  said  islands  under  and  by  virtue  of  the 


304      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

treaty  of  Paris,  or  any  association  of  persons  severally 
qualified  as  above,  shall,  upon  application  to  the  proper 
provincial  treasurer,  have  the  right  to  enter  any  quality 
of  vacant  coal  lands  of  said  islands,  not  otherwise  appro- 
priated or  reserved  by  competent  authority,  not  exceed- 
ing sixty-four  hectares  to  such  individual  person,  or  one 
hundred  and  twenty-eight  hectares  to  such  association 
upon  payment  to  the  provincial  treasurer  or  the  collector 
of  internal  revenue,  as  the  case  may  be,  of  not  less  than 
fifty  pesos  per  hectare  for  such  lands,  where  the  same 
shall  be  situated  more  than  twenty-five  kilometers  from 
any  completed  railroad  or  available  harbor  or  navigable 
stream,  and  not  less  than  one  hundred  pesos  per  hectare 
for  such  lands  as  shall  be  within  twenty-five  kilometers 
of  such  road,  harbor,  or  stream :  Provided,  That  such  en- 
tries shall  be  taken  in  squares  of  sixteen  or  sixty-four 
hectares,  in  conformity  with  the  rules  and  regulations 
governing  the  public-land  surveys  of  the  said  islands  in 
plotting  legal  subdivisions. 

Sec.  54.  That  any  person  or  association  of  persons, 
severally  qualified  as  above  provided,  who  have  opened 
and  improved,  or  shall  hereafter  open  and  improve,  any 
coal  mine  or  mines  upon  the  public  lands,  and  shall  be  in 
actual  possession  of  the  same,  shall  be  entitled  to  a  prefer- 
ence right  of  entry  under  the  preceding  section,  of  the 
mines  so  opened  and  improved. 

Sec.  55.  That  all  claims  under  the  preceding  section 
must  be  presented  to  the  proper  provincial  secretary 
within  sixty  days  after  the  date  of  actual  possession  and 
the  commencement  of  improvements  on  the  land  by  the 
filing  of  a  declaratory  statement  therefor ;  and  where  the 
improvements  shall  have  been  made  prior  to  the  expira- 


APPENDIX  C  305 

tion  of  three  months  from  the  date  of  the  passage  of  this 
act,  sixty  days  from  the  expiration  of  such  three  months 
shall  be  allowed  for  the  filing  of  a  declaratory  statement ; 
and  no  sale  under  the  provisions  of  this  act  shall  be  al- 
lowed until  the  expiration  of  six  months  from  the  date 
of  the  passage  of  this  act. 

Sec.  56.  That  the  three  preceding  sections  shall  be 
held  to  authorize  only  one  entry  by  the  same  person  or 
association  of  persons ;  and  no  association  of  persons,  any 
member  of  which  shall  have  taken  the  benefit  of  such 
sections,  either  as  an  individual  or  as  a  member  of  any 
other  association,  shall  enter  or  hold  any  other  lands 
under  the  provisions  thereof;  and  no  member  of  any 
association  which  shall  have  taken  the  benefit  of  such 
section  shall  enter  or  hold  any  other  lands  under  their 
provisions;  and  all  persons  claiming  under  section  fifty 
eight  shall  be  required  to  prove  their  respective  rights 
and  pay  for  the  lands  filed  upon  within  one  year  from 
the  time  prescribed  for  filing  their  respective  claims ;  and 
upon  failure  to  file  the  proper  notice  or  to  pay  for  the 
land  within  the  required  period,  the  same  shall  be  sub- 
ject to  entry  by  any  other  qualified  applicant. 

Sec.  57.  That  in  case  of  conflicting  claims  upon  coal 
lands  where  the  improvements  shall  be  commenced  after 
the  date  of  the  passage  of  this  act,  priority  of  possession 
and  improvement,  followed  by  proper  filing  and  con- 
tinued good  faith,  shall  determine  the  preference  right  to 
purchase.  And  also  where  improvements  have  already 
been  made  prior  to  the  passage  of  this  act,  division  of  the 
land  claimed  may  be  made  by  legal  subdivisions,  which 
shall  conform  as  nearly  as  practicable  with  the  subdivi- 
sions of  land  provided  for  in  this  act,  to  include  as  near 


306      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

as  may  be  the  valuable  improvements  of  the  respective 
parties.  The  Government  of  the  Philippine  Islands  is 
authorized  to  issue  all  needful  rules  and  reflations  for 
carrying  into  effect  the  provisions  of  this  and  preceding 
sections  relating  to  mineral  lands. 

Sec.  58  {as  amended  hy  Sec.  9,  Act  of  Congress  of 
February  6,  1905).  That  whenever  it  shall  be  made  to 
appear  to  the  secretary  of  any  province  or  the  commander 
of  any  military  department  in  the  Philippine  Islands  that 
any  lands  within  the  province  are  saline  in  character,  it 
shall  be  the  duty  of  said  provincial  secretary  or  com- 
mander, under  the  regulations  of  the  Government  of  the 
Philippine  Islands,  to  take  testimony  in  reference  to  such 
lands,  to  ascertain  their  true  character,  and  to  report  the 
same  to  the  secretary  of  the  interior  for  the  Philippine 
Islands ;  and  if  upon  such  testimony  the  secretary  of  the 
interior  shall  find  that  such  lands  are  saline  and  incapa- 
ble of  being  purchased  under  any  of  the  laws  relative  to 
the  public  domain,  then  and  in  such  case  said  lands  shall 
be  offered  for  sale  at  the  office  of  the  provincial  secretary, 
or  such  other  officer  as  by  the  said  Government  may  be 
described  as  mining  recorder  of  the  province  or  depart- 
ment in  which  the  same  shall  be  situated,  as  the  case  may 
be,  under  such  regulations  as  may  be  prescribed  by  said 
Government  and  sold  to  the  highest  bidder  for  cash  at  a 
price  of  not  less  than  six  pesos  per  hectare;  and  in  case 
such  lands  fail  to  sell  when  so  offered,  then  the  same  shall 
be  subject  to  private  sale  at  such  office,  for  cash,  at  a  price 
not  less  than  six  pesos  per  hectare,  in  the  same  manner  as 
other  lEinds  in  the  said  islands  are  sold.  All  executive 
proclamations  relating  to  the  sales  of  public  saline  lands 
shall  be  published  in  only  two  newspapers,  one  printed 


APPENDIX  C  307 

in  the  English  language  and  one  in  the  Spanish  language, 
at  Manila,  which  shall  be  designated  by  said  Secretary 
of  the  Interior. 

Sec.  59.  That  no  act  granting  lands  to  provinces,  dis- 
tricts, or  municipalities  to  aid  in  the  construction  of 
roads,  or  for  other  public  purposes,  shall  be  so  construed 
as  to  embrace  mineral  lands,  which,  in  all  cases,  are  re- 
served exclusively,  unless  otherwise  specially  provided 
in  the  act  or  acts  making  the  grant. 

Sec.  60.  That  nothing  in  this  act  shall  be  construed  to 
affect  the  rights  of  any  person,  partnership,  or  corpora- 
tion having  a  valid,  perfected  mining  concession  granted 
prior  to  April  eleventh,  eighteen  hundred  and  ninety 
nine,  but  all  such  concessions  shall  be  conducted  under 
the  provisions  of  the  law  in  force  at  the  time  they  were 
granted,  subject  at  all  times  to  cancelation  by  reason  of 
illegality  in  the  procedure  by  which  they  were  obtained, 
or  for  failure  to  comply  with  the  conditions  prescribed  as 
requisite  to  their  retention  in  the  laws  under  which  they 
were  granted:  Provided,  That  the  owner  or  owners  of 
every  such  concession  shall  cause  the  comers  made  by  its 
boundaries  to  be  distinctly  marked  with  permanent  mon- 
uments within  six  months  after  this  act  has  been  promul- 
gated in  the  Philippine  Islands,  and  that  any  concessions 
the  boundaries  of  which  are  not  so  marked  within  this 
period  shall  be  free  and  open  to  explorations  and  pur- 
chase under  the  provisions  of  this  act. 

Sec.  61.  That  mining  rights  on  public  lands  in  the 
Philippine  Islands  shall,  after  the  passage  of  this  act,  be 
acquired  only  in  accordance  with  its  provisions. 

Sec.  62.  That  all  proceedings  for  the  cancelation  of 
perfected  Spanish  concessions  shall  be  conducted  in  the 


308     THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

courts  of  the  Philippine  Islands  having  jurisdiction  of 
the  subject-matter  and  of  the  parties,  unless  the  United 
States  Philippine  Commission,  or  its  successors,  shall 
create  special  tribunals  for  the  determination  of  such 
controversies. 

AUTHORITY  FOR  THE  PHILIPPINE  ISLANDS  GOVERNMENT  TO 
PURCHASE  LANDS  OF  RELIGIOUS  ORDERS  AND  OTHERS  AND 
ISSUE  BONDS  ^^  FOR  PURCHASE  PRICE. 

Sec.  63.  That  the  Government  of  the  Philippine  Is- 
lands is  hereby  authorized,  subject  to  the  limitations  and 
conditions  prescribed  in  this  act,  to  acquire,  receive, 
hold,  maintain,  and  convey  title  to  real  and  personal 
property,  and  may  acquire  real  estate  for  public  uses  by 
the  exercise  of  the  right  of  eminent  domain. 

Sec.  64.  That  the  powers  hereinbefore  conferred  in 
section  sixty  three  may  also  be  exercised  in  respect  of 
any  lands,  easements,  appurtenances,  and  hereditaments 
which,  on  the  thirteenth  of  August,  eighteen  hundred 
and  ninety  eight,  were  owned  or  held  by  associations, 
corporations,  communities,  religious  orders,  or  private 
individuals  in  such  large  tracts  or  parcels  and  in  such 
manner  as  in  the  opinion  of  the  Commission  injuriously 
to  affect  the  peace  and  welfare  of  the  people  of  the  Philip- 
pine Islands.  And  for  the  purpose  of  providing  funds 
to  acquire  the  lands  mentioned  in  this  section  said  Gov- 
ernment of  the  Philippine  Islands  is  hereby  empowered 
to  incur  indebtedness,  to  borrow  money,  and  to  issue,  and 
to  sell  at  not  less  than  par  value,  in  gold  coin  of  the 

15  Bonds  exempted  from  taxation,  see  sees.  64,  67,  and  71  of 
this  act  and  sec.  1,  act  of  February  6,  1905,  pp.  31,  32,  34, 
and  59. 


APPENDIX  C  309 

United  States  of  the  present  standard  value  or  the  equiva- 
lent in  value  in  money  of  said  islands,  upon  such  terms 
and  conditions  as  it  may  deem  best,  registered  or  coupon 
bonds  of  said  Government  for  such  amount  as  may  be 
necessary,  said  bonds  to  be  in  denominations  of  fifty  dol- 
lars or  any  multiple  thereof,  bearing  interest  at  a  rate 
not  exceeding  four  and  a  half  per  centum  per  annum, 
payable  quarterly,  and  to  be  payable  at  the  pleasure  of 
said  Government  after  dates  named  in  said  bonds,  not  less 
than  five  nor  more  than  thirty  years  from  the  date  of 
their  issue,  together  with  interest  thereon,  in  gold  coin  of 
the  United  States  of  the  present  standard  value  or  the 
equivalent  in  value  in  money  of  said  islands;  and  said 
bonds  shall  be  exempt  from  the  payment  of  all  taxes  or 
duties  of  said  Government,  or  any  local  authority  therein, 
or  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  as  well  as 
from  taxation  in  any  form  by  or  under  state,  municipal, 
or  local  authority  in  the  United  States  or  the  Philippine 
Islands.  The  moneys  which  may  be  realized  or  received 
from  the  issue  and  sale  of  said  bonds  shall  be  applied  by 
the  Government  of  the  Philippine  Islands  to  the  acqui- 
sition of  the  property  authorized  by  this  section,  and  to 
no  other  purposes. 

Sec.  65.  That  all  lands  acquired  by  virtue  of  the  pre- 
ceding section  shall  constitute  a  part  and  portion  of  the 
public  property  of  the  Government  of  the  Philippine  Is- 
lands, and  may  be  held,  sold,  and  conveyed,  or  leased 
temporarily  for  a  period  not  exceeding  three  years  after 
their  acquisition  by  said  Government  on  such  terms  and 
conditions  as  it  may  prescribe,  subject  to  the  limitations 
and  conditions  provided  for  in  this  act :  Provided,  That 
all  deferred  payments  and  the  interest  thereon  shall  be 


310      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

payable  in  the  money  prescribed  for  the  payment  of 
principal  and  interest  of  the  bonds  authorized  to  be 
issued  in  payment  of  said  lands  by  the  preceding  section 
and  said  deferred  payments  shall  bear  interest  at  the 
rate  borne  by  the  bonds.  All  moneys  realized  or  re- 
ceived from  sales  or  other  disposition  of  said  lands  or  by 
reason  thereof  shall  constitute  a  trust  fund  for  the  pay- 
ment of  principal  and  interest  of  said  bonds,  and  also 
constitute  a  sinking  fund  for  the  payment  of  said  bonds 
at  their  maturity.  Actual  settlers  and  occupants  at  the 
time  said  lands  are  acquired  by  the  Government  shall 
have  the  preference  over  all  others  to  lease,  purchase,  or 
acquire  their  holdings  within  such  reasonable  time  as 
may  be  determined  by  said  Government. 

MUNICIPAL  BONDS  ^^  FOR  PUBLIC  IMPROVEMENTS. 

Sec.  66  (as  amended  hy  Sec.  3,  Act  of  Congress  of 
February  6,  1905).  That  for  the  purpose  of  providing 
funds  to  construct  necessary  sewer  and  drainage  facili- 
ties, to  secure  a  sufficient  supply  of  water  and  necessary 
buildings  for  primary  public  schools  in  municipalities, 
the  Government  of  the  Philippine  Islands  may,  where 
current  taxation  is  inadequate  for  the  purpose,  under 
such  limitations,  terms,  and  conditions  as  it  may  pre- 
scribe, authorize,  by  appropriate  legislation,  to  be  ap- 
proved by  the  President  of  the  United  States,  any  mu- 
nicipality of  said  islands  to  incur  indebtedness,  borrow 
money,  and  to  issue  and  sell  (at  not  less  than  par  value 
in  gold  coin  of  the  United  States)  registered  or  coupon 

i«  Bonds  exempted  from  taxation,  see  sees.  64,  67,  and  71  of 
this  act  and  sec.  1,  Act  of  February  6,  1905,  pp.  31,  32,  34 
and  59. 


APPENDIX  C  311 

bonds,  in  such  amount  and  payable  at  such  time  as  may 
be  determined  to  be  necessary  by  the  Government  of  said 
islands,  with  interest  thereon  not  to  exceed  five  per 
centum  per  annum:  Provided,  That  the  entire  indebted- 
ness of  any  municipality  shall  not  exceed  five  per  centum 
of  the  assessed  valuation  of  the  real  estate  in  said  mu- 
nicipality, and  any  obligation  in  excess  of  such  limit 
shall  be  null  and  void. 

Sec.  67.  That  all  municipal  bonds  shall  be  in  denomi- 
nations of  fifty  dollars,  or  any  multiple  thereof,  bearing 
interest  at  a  rate  not  exceeding  five  per  centum  per 
annum,  payable  quarterly,  such  bonds  to  be  payable  at 
the  pleasure  of  the  Government  of  the  Philippine  Islands, 
after  dates  named  in  said  bonds  not  less  than  five  nor 
more  than  thirty  years  from  the  date  of  their  issue,  to- 
gether with  the  interest  thereon,  in  gold  coin  of  the 
United  States  of  the  present  standard  value,  or  its  equiva- 
lent in  value  in  money  of  the  said  islands ;  and  said  bonds 
shall  be  exempt  from  the  payment  of  all  taxes  or  duties 
oJ  the  Government  of  the  Philippine  Islands,  or  any  local 
authority  therein,  or  the  Government  of  the  United 
States, 

Sec.  68.  That  all  moneys  which  may  be  realized  or 
received  from  the  issue  and  sale  of  said  bonds  shall  be 
utilized  under  authorization  of  the  Government  of  the 
Philippine  Islands  in  providing  the  municipal  improve- 
ments and  betterment  which  induced  the  issue  and  sale 
of  said  bonds,  and  for  no  other  purpose. 

Sec.  69.  That  the  Government  of  the  Philippine  Is- 
lands shall,  by  the  levy  and  collection  of  taxes  on  the 
municipality,  its  inhabitants  and  their  property,  or  by 
other  means,  make  adequate  provision  to  meet  the  obli- 


312     THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

gation  of  the  bonds  of  such  municipality,  and  shall  create 
a  sinking  fund  sufficient  to  retire  them  and  pay  the  in- 
terest thereon  in  accordance  with  the  terms  of  issue: 
Provided,  That  if  said  bonds  or  any  portion  thereof  shall 
be  paid  out  of  the  funds  of  the  Government  of  said 
islands,  such  municipality  shall  reimburse  said  Govern- 
ment for  the  sum  thus  paid,  and  said  Government  is 
hereby  empowered  to  collect  said  sum  by  the  levy  and 
collection  of  taxes  on  such  municipality. 

Sec.  70.  That  for  the  purpose  of  providing  funds  to 
construct  sewers  in  the  city  of  Manila  and  to  furnish  it 
with  an  adequate  sewer  and  drainage  system  and  supply 
of  water  the  Government  of  the  Philippine  Islands,  with 
the  approval  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  first 
had,  is  hereby  authorized  to  permit  the  city  of  Manila  to 
incur  indebtedness,  to  borrow  money,  and  to  issue  and 
sell  (at  not  less  than  par  value  in  gold  coin  of  the  United 
States),  upon  such  terms  and  conditions  as  it  may  deem 
best,  registered  or  coupon  bonds  of  the  city  of  Manila  to 
an  amount  not  exceeding  four  million  dollars  lawful 
money  of  the  United  States,  payable  at  such  time  or 
times  as  may  be  determined  by  said  Government,  with 
interest  thereon  not  to  exceed  five  per  centum  per  annum. 

Sec.  71.  That  said  coupon  or  registered  bonds  shall  be 
in  denominations  of  fifty  dollars  or  any  multiple  thereof, 
bearing  interest  at  a  rate  not  exceeding  five  per  centum 
per  annum,  payable  quarterly,  such  bonds  to  be  payable 
at  the  pleasure  of  the  Government  of  the  Philippine 
Islands,  after  dates  named  in  said  bonds  not  less  than 
five  nor  more  than  thirty  years  from  the  date  of  their 
issue,  together  with  the  interest  thereon  in  gold  coin  of 
the  United  States  of  the  present  standard  value,  or  the 


APPENDIX  C  313 

equivalent  in  value  in  money  of  the  said  islands;  and 
said  bonds  shall  be  exempt  from  the  payment  of  all  taxes 
or  duties  of  the  Government  of  the  said  islands,  or  of  any 
local  authority  therein,  or  of  the  Government  of  the 
United  States. 

Sec.  72.  That  all  moneys  which  may  be  realized  or 
received  from  the  issue  and  sale  of  said  bonds  shall  be 
utilized  under  authorization  of  said  Government  of  the 
Philippine  Islands  in  providing  a  suitable  sewer  and 
drainage  system  and  adequate  supply  of  water  for  the 
city  of  Manila  and  for  no  other  purpose. 

Sec.  73.  That  the  Government  of  the  Philippine  Is- 
lands shall,  by  the  levy  and  collection  of  taxes  on  the 
city  of  Manila,  its  inhabitants  and  their  property,  or  by 
other  means,  make  adequate  provision  to  meet  the  obli- 
gation of  said  bonds  and  shall  create  a  sinking  fund 
sufficient  to  retire  them  and  pay  the  interest  thereon  in 
accordance  with  the  terms  of  issue :  Provided,  That  if 
said  bonds  or  any  portion  thereof  shall  be  paid  out  of 
the  funds  of  the  Government  of  said  islands,  said  city 
shall  reimburse  said  Government  for  the  sum  thus  paid, 
and  said  Government  is  hereby  empowered  to  collect  said 
sum  by  the  levy  and  collection  of  taxes  on  said  city. 

FRANCHISES.^' 

Sec.  74.^^  That  the  Government  of  the  Philippine  Is- 
lands may  grant  franchises,  privileges,  and  concessions, 
including  the  authority  to  exercise  the  right  of  eminent 
domain,  for  the  construction  and  operation  of  works  of 

17  See  sees.  4  and  5,  act  of  February  6,  1905,  for  authority 
for  railroad  concession,  pp.  60-02. 

18  See  par.  14,  sec.  4,  act  of  February  6,  1905,  affecting,  p.  61. 


314      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

public  utility  and  service,  and  may  authorize  said  works 
to  be  constructed  and  maintained  over  and  across  the 
public  property  of  the  United  States,  including  streets, 
highways,  squares,  and  reservations,  and  over  similar 
property  of  the  Government  of  said  islands,  and  may 
adopt  rules  and  regulations  under  which  the  provincial 
and  municipal  Governments  of  the  Islands  may  grant  the 
right  to  use  and  occupy  such  public  property  belonging 
to  said  provinces  or  municipalities :  Provided,  That  no 
private  property  shall  be  taken  for  any  purpose  under 
this  section  without  just  compensation  paid  or  tendered 
therefor,  and  that  such  authority  to  take  and  occupy 
land  shall  not  authorize  the  taking,  use,  or  occupation  of 
any  land  except  such  as  is  required  for  the  actual  neces- 
sary purposes  for  which  the  franchise  is  granted,  and  that 
no  franchise,  privilege,  or  concession  shall  be  granted  to 
any  corporation  except  under  the  conditions  that  it  shall 
be  subject  to  amendment,  alteration,  or  repeal  by  the 
Congress  of  the  United  States,  and  that  lands  or  rights 
of  use  and  occupation  of  lands  thus  granted  shall  revert 
to  the  Governments  by  which  they  were  respectively 
granted  upon  the  termination  of  the  franchises  and  eon- 
cessions  under  which  they  were  granted  or  upon  their 
revocation  or  repeal.  That  all  franchises,  privileges,  or 
concessions  granted  under  this  act  shall  forbid  the  issue 
of  stock  or  bonds  except  in  exchange  for  actual  cash  or 
for  property  at  a  fair  valuation  equal  to  the  par  value  of 
the  stock  or  bonds  so  issued;  shall  forbid  the  declaring 
of  stock  or  bond  dividends,  and,  in  the  case  of  public- 
service  corporations,  shall  provide  for  the  effective  regu- 
lation of  the  charges  thereof,  for  the  official  inspection 
and  regulation  of  the  books  and  accounts  of  such  corpora- 


APPENDIX  C  315 

tions,  and  for  the  payment  of  a  reasonable  percentage  of 
gross  earnings  into  the  treasury  of  the  Philippine  Islands 
or  of  the  province  or  municipality  within  which  such 
franchises  are  granted  and  exercised :  Provided  further, 
That  it  shall  be  unlawful  for  any  corporation  organized 
under  this  act,  or  for  any  person,  company,  or  corpora- 
tion receiving  any  grant,  franchise,  or  concession  from 
the  Government  of  said  islands,  to  use,  employ  or  con- 
tract for  the  labor  of  persons  claimed  or  alleged  to  be  held 
in  involuntary  servitude;  and  any  person,  company,  or 
corporation  so  violating  the  provisions  of  this  act  shall 
forfeit  all  charters,  grants,  franchises,  and  concessions 
for  doing  business  in  said  islands,  and  in  addition  shall 
be  deemed  guilty  of  an  offense,  and  shall  be  punished  by 
a  fine  of  not  less  than  ten  thousand  dollars. 

Sec.  75.  That  no  corporation  shall  be  authorized  to 
conduct  the  business  of  buying  and  selling  real  estate  or 
be  permitted  to  hold  or  own  real  estate  except  such  as 
may  be  reasonably  necessary  to  enable  it  to  carry  out 
the  purposes  for  which  it  is  created,  and  every  corpora- 
tion authorized  to  engage  in  agriculture  shall  by  its 
charter  be  restricted  to  the  ownership  and  control  of 
not  to  exceed  one  thousand  and  twenty-four  hectares  of 
land ;  and  it  shall  be  unlawful  for  any  member  of  a  cor- 
poration engaged  in  agriculture  or  mining  and  for  any 
corporation  organized  for  any  purpose  except  irrigation 
to  be  in  any  wise  interested  in  any  other  corporation  en- 
gaged in  agriculture  or  in  mining.  Corporations,  how- 
ever, may  loan  funds  upon  real-estate  security  and  pur- 
chase real  estate  when  necessary  for  the  collection  of 
loans,  but  they  shall  dispose  of  real  estate  so  obtained 
within  five  years  after  receiving  the  title.    Corporations 


316      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

not  organized  in  the  Philippine  Islands  and  doing  busi- 
ness therein  shall  be  bound  by  the  provisions  of  this  sec- 
tion so  far  as  they  are  applicable. 

COINAGE.^* 

Sec.  76.  That  the  Government  of  the  Philippine  Is- 
lands is  hereby  authorized  to  establish  a  mint  at  the 
city  of  Manila,  in  said  islands,  for  coinage  purposes,  and 
the  coins  hereinafter  authorized  may  be  coined  at  said 
mint.  And  the  said  Government  is  hereby  authorized  to 
enact  laws  necessary  for  such  establishment:  Provided, 
That  the  laws  of  the  United  States  relating  to  mints  and 
coinage,  so  far  as  applicable,  are  hereby  extended  to  the 
coinage  of  said  islands. 

Sec.  77  (as  amended  by  Sec.  4,  Act  of  Congress  of 
March  2, 1903).  That  the  Government  of  the  Philippine 
Islands  is  authorized  to  coin  for  use  in  said  islands  a  coin 
of  the  denomination  of  fifty  centavos  and  of  the  weight  of 
two  hundred  and  eight  grains,  a  coin  of  the  denomination 
of  twenty  centavos  and  of  the  weight  of  eighty-three  and 
ten  one-hundredths  grains,  and  a  coin  of  the  denomination 
of  ten  centavos  and  of  the  weight  of  forty-one  and  fifty- 
five  one-hundredths  grains;  and  the  standard  of  said 
silver  coins  shall  be  such  that  of  one  thousand  parts,  by 
weight,  nine  hundred  shall  be  of  pure  metal  and  one  hun- 
dred of  alloy,  and  the  alloy  shall  be  of  copper. 

(Sec.  78  repealed  by  Sec.  13,  Act  of  March  2,  1903, 
below.) 

Sex!.  13.  That  section  seventy  eight  of  the  Act  of  July  first, 
nineteen  hundred  and  two,  and  all  Acts  and  parts  of  Acts  in- 

19  See  further  coinage  acts  of  March  2,  1903,  and  June  23, 
1906,  pp.  56-59. 


APPENDIX  C  317 

consistent  with  the  provisions  of  this  Act,  and  all  provisions 
of  law  in  force  in  the  Philippine  Islands  making  any  form  of 
money  legal  tender  after  December  thirty-first,  nineteen  hun- 
dred and  three,  except  as  provided  in  this  Act,  are  hereby 
repealed.  [32  Stat.  L.,  952.J 
Approved,  March  2,  1903. 

Sec.  79.  That  the  Government  of  the  Philippine  Is- 
lands is  also  authorized  to  issue  minor  coins  of  the  denom- 
inations of  one-half  centavo,  one  centavo,  and  five  een- 
tavos,  and  such  minor  coins  shall  be  legal  tender  in  said 
islands  for  amounts  not  exceeding  one  dollar.  The  alloy 
of  the  five-centavo  piece  shall  be  of  copper  and  nickel,  to 
be  composed  of  three-fourths  copper  and  one-fourth 
nickel.  The  alloy  of  the  one-centavo  and  one-half -cen- 
tavo pieces  shall  be  ninety-five  percentum  of  copper  and 
five  per  centum  of  tin  and  zinc,  in  such  proportions  as 
shall  be  determined  by  said  Government.  The  weight  of 
the  five-centavo  piece  shall  be  seventy-seven  and  sixteen- 
hundredths  grains  troy,  and  of  the  one-centavo  piece 
eighty  grains  troy,  and  of  the  one-half -centavo  piece  forty 
grains  troy. 

Sec.  80.  That  for  the  purchase  of  metal  for  the  sub- 
sidiary and  minor  coinage,  authorized  by  the  preceding 
sections,  an  appropriation  may  be  made  by  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  Philippine  Islands  from  its  current  funds, 
which  shall  be  reimbursed  from  the  coinage  under  said 
sections;  and  the  gain  or  seigniorage  arising  therefrom 
shall  be  paid  into  the  treasury  of  said  islands. 

Sec.  81.  That  the  subsidiary  and  minor  coinage  herein- 
before authorized  may  be  coined  at  the  mint  of  the  Gov- 
ernment of  the  Philippine  Islands  at  Manila,  or  arrange- 
ments may  be  made  by  the  said  Government  with  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States  for  their 


318     THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

coinage  at  any  of  the  mints  of  the  United  States,  at  a 
charge  covering  the  reasonable  cost  of  the  work. 

Sec.  82,  That  the  subsidiary  and  minor  coinage  herein- 
before authorized  shall  bear  devices  and  inscriptions 
to  be  prescribed  by  the  Government  of  the  Philippine 
Islands  and  such  devices  and  inscriptions  shall  express 
the  sovereignty  of  the  United  States,  that  it  is  a  coin  of 
the  Philippine  Islands,  the  denomination  of  the  coin,  and 
the  year  of  the  coinage. 

Sec.  83.  That  the  Government  of  the  Philippine  Is- 
lands shall  have  the  power  to  make  all  necessary  appro- 
priations and  all  proper  regulations  for  the  redemption 
and  reissue  of  worn  or  defective  coins  and  for  carrying 
out  all  other  provisions  of  this  act  relating  to  coinage. 

Sec.  84.  That  the  laws  relating  to  entry,  clearance, 
and  manifests  of  steamships  and  other  vessels  arriving 
from  or  going  to  foreign  ports  shall  apply  to  voyages 
each  way  between  the  Philippine  Islands  and  the  United 
States  and  the  possessions  thereof,  and  all  laws  relating 
to  the  collection  and  protection  of  customs  duties  not  in- 
consistent with  the  act  of  Congress  of  March  eighth,  nine- 
teen hundred  and  two,  *  *  temporarily  to  provide  revenue 
for  the  Philippine  Islands,"  shall  apply  in  the  case  of 
vessels  and  goods  arriving  from  said  islands  in  the  United 
States  and  its  aforesaid  possessions. 

The  laws  relating  to  seamen  on  foreign  voyages  shall 
apply  to  seamen  on  vessels  going  from  the  United  States 
and  its  possessions  aforesaid  to  said  islands,  the  customs 
officers  there  being  for  this  purpose  substituted  for  con- 
sular officers  in  foreign  ports. 

The  provisions  of  chapters  six  and  seven,  title  forty 
eight,  Revised  Statutes,  so  far  as  now  in  force,  and  any 


APPENDIX  G  319 

amendments  thereof,  shall  apply  to  vessels  making  voy- 
ages either  way  between  ports  of  the  United  States  or  its 
aforesaid  possessions  and  ports  in  said  islands;  and  the 
provisions  of  law  relating  to  the  public  health  and  quar- 
antine shall  apply  in  the  case  of  all  vessels  entering  a  port 
of  the  United  States  or  its  aforesaid  possessions  from 
said  islands,  where  the  customs  officers  at  the  port  of 
departure  shall  perform  the  duties  required  by  such  law 
of  consular  officers  in  foreign  ports. 

Section  three  thousand  and  five.  Revised  Statutes,  as 
amended,  and  other  existing  laws  concerning  the  transit 
of  merchandise  through  the  United  States,  shall  apply  to 
merchandise  arriving  at  any  port  of  the  United  States 
destined  for  any  of  its  insular  and  continental  possessions, 
or  destined  from  any  of  them  to  foreign  countries. 

Nothing  in  this  act  shall  be  held  to  repeal  or  alter  any 
part  of  the  act  of  March  eighth,  nineteen  hundred  and 
two,  aforesaid,  or  to  apply  to  Guam,  Tutuila,  or  Manua, 
except  that  section  eight  of  an  act  entitled  **  An  act  to 
revise  and  amend  the  tariff  laws  of  the  Philippine  Archi- 
pelago," enacted  by  the  Philippine  Commission  on  the 
seventeenth  of  September,  nineteen  hundred  and  one,  and 
approved  by  an  act  entitled  * '  An  act  temporarily  to  pro- 
vide revenues  for  the  Philippine  Islands,  and  for  other 
purposes,"  approved  March  eighth,  nineteen  hundred 
and  two,  is  hereby  amended  so  as  to  authorize  the  civil 
governor  thereof  in  his  discretion  to  establish  the  equiva- 
lent rates  of  the  money  in  circulation  in  said  islands  with 
the  money  of  the  United  States  as  often  as  once  in  ten 
days. 

Sec.  85.  That  the  treasury  of  the  Philippine  Islands 
and  such  banking  associations  in  said  islands  with  a  paid 


320     THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

up  capital  of  not  less  than  two  million  dollars  and 
chartered  by  the  United  States  or  any  State  thereof  as 
may  be  designated  by  the  Secretary  of  War  and  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  of  the  United  Sates  shall  be 
depositories  of  public  money  of  the  United  States,  subject 
to  the  provisions  of  existing  law  governing  such  deposi- 
tories in  the  United  States :  Provided,  That  the  treasury 
of  the  Government  of  said  islands  shall  not  be  required  to 
deposit  bonds  in  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States,  or  to 
give  other  specific  securities  for  the  safe-keeping  of 
public  money  except  as  prescribed,  in  his  discretion,  by 
the  Secretary  of  War. 

Sec.  86.  That  all  laws  passed  by  the  Government  of  the 
Philippine  Islands  shall  be  reported  to  Congress,  which 
hereby  reserves  the  power  and  authority  to  annul  the 
same,  and  the  Philippine  Commission  is  hereby  directed 
to  make  annual  report  of  all  its  receipts  and  expenditures 
to  the  Secretary  of  War. 

BUREAU  OP  INSULAR  AFFAIRS. 

Sec.  87.  That  the  Division  of  Insular  Affairs  of  the 
War  Department,  organized  by  the  Secretary  of  War,  is 
hereby  continued  until  otherwise  provided,  and  shall 
hereafter  be  known  as  the  Bureau  of  Insular  Affairs  of 
the  War  Department.  The  business  assigned  to  said 
bureau  shall  embrace  all  matters  pertaining  to  civil  gov- 
ernment in  the  island  possessions  of  the  United  States 
subject  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  War  Department ;  ^° 
and  the  Secretary  of  War  is  hereby  authorized  to  detail 

20  See  Act  of  Congress  and  Executive  Order  of  the  President 
of  July  15,  1909,  imposing  further  duties  upon  the  Bureau  of 
Insular  Affairs  by  placing  Porto  Rico  under  its  supervision. 


APPENDIX  C  321 

an  officer  of  the  army  whom  he  may  consider  especially 
well  qualified,  to  act  under  the  authority  of  the  Secretary 
of  War  as  the  chief  of  said  bureau ;  and  said  officer  while 
acting  under  said  detail  shall  have  the  rank,  pay,  and 
allowances  of  a  colonel.^^ 

Sec.  88.  That  all  acts  and  parts  of  acts  inconsistent 
with  this  act  are  hereby  repealed.     [32  Stat.  L.,  691.] 

Approved,  July  1, 1902. 

21  See  acts  of  Congress  of  June  25,  1906,  March  2,  1907,  and 
March  23,  1910,  concerning  the  chief  of  bureau  and  assistants, 
their  rank,  etc. 


APPENDIX  D 

UTTERANCES  OF  REPUBLICAN  PRESIDENTS 

AND  GOVERNORS-GENERAL  ON 

THE  PHILIPPINES  1 

In  President  McKinley's  instructions  to  the  first 
Philippine  Commission,  on  the  20th  of  January,  1899, 
he  expressed  the  hope  that  these  commissioners  would 
be  received  as  bearers  of  "  the  richest  blessings  of  a 
liberating  rather  than  a  conquering  nation."  In  his 
message  to  Congress  in  the  same  year,  among  other 
things  concerning  the  Philippines,  he  said: 

**  We  shall  continue,  as  we  have  begun,  to  open  the 
schools  and  the  churches,  to  set  the  courts  in  operation, 
to  foster  industry  and  trade  and  agriculture,  and  in 
every  way  in  our  power,  to  make  these  people  whom 
Providence  has  brought  within  our  jurisdiction  feel  that 
it  is  their  liberty  and  not  our  power,  their  welfare  and 
not  our  gain  we  are  seeking  to  enhance." 

And  again  he  said : 

**  The  Philippines  are  ours,  not  to  exploit,  but  to  de- 
velop, to  civilize,  to  educate,  to  train  in  the  science  of 
self-government.  This  is  the  path  of  duty  which  we 
must  follow  or  be  recreant  to  a  mighty  trust  committed 
to  us." 

Upon  another  occasion  he  said : 

1  Taken  chiefly  from  Secretary  Garrison's  statement  before 
the  Senate  Committee  on  the  Philippines,  January  11,  1915. 

322 


APPENDIX  D  323 

**  We  accepted  the  Philippines  from  high  duty  in 
the  interest  of  their  inhabitants  and  for  humanity  and 
civilization.  Our  sacrifices  were  with  this  high  motive. 
We  want  to  improve  the  condition  of  the  inhabitants, 
securing  them  peace,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  their 
highest  good." 

In  the  instructions  sent  to  one  of  the  commissions 
created  by  him  he  directed: 

**  That  in  all  cases  the  municipal  officers  who  admin- 
ister the  local  affairs  of  the  people  are  to  be  selected 
by  the  people,  and  that  wherever  officers  of  more  ex- 
tended jurisdiction  are  to  be  selected  in  any  way  na- 
tives of  the  Islands  are  to  be  preferred,  and  if  they  can 
be  found  competent  and  willing  to  perform  the  duties 
they  are  to  receive  the  offices  in  preference  to  any  others. 
It  will  be  necessary  to  fill  some  offices  for  the  present 
with  Americans,  which  after  a  time  may  well  be  filled 
by  natives  of  the  Islands." 

President  Taft,  while  civil  governor  of  the  Philippine 
Islands,  on  the  17th  of  December,  1903,  said : 

"  From  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  the  state  papers 
which  were  circulated  in  these  islands  as  authoritative 
expressions  of  the  Executive,  the  motto  that  *  the  Phil- 
ippines are  for  the  Filipinos  '  and  that  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  is  here  for  the  purpose  of 
preserving  the  '  Philippines  for  the  Filipinos,'  for  their 
benefit,  for  their  elevation,  for  their  civilization,  again 
and  again  and  again  appear." 

And  upon  the  same  occasion,  and  in  response  to  a 
particularly  vicious  newspaper  attack  which  was  then 
being  made  upon  him  by  the  American  papers  pub- 
lished in  the  Islands,  he  said : 


324     THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

**  Some  of  our  young  lions  of  the  local  press  have 
spoken  of  the  *  childish  slogan,'  *  The  Philippines  for 
the  Filipinos.'  It  is  unnecessary  to  comment  on  the 
adjective  used,  but  it  is  sufficient  to  say  that,  whether 
childish  or  not,  the  principle  makes  up  the  web  and  the 
woof  of  the  policy  of  the  United  States  with  respect  to 
these  islands  as  it  has  been  authoritatively  declared  by 
two  Presidents  of  the  United  States  —  for  President 
Roosevelt  has  followed  sedulously  the  policy  of  President 
McKinley — and  by  the  interpretation  of  the  supreme 
popular  will,  the  Congress  of  the  United  States. ' ' 

He  points  out  that  the  actions  of  the  President  and  the 
instructions  thereof  have,  by  an  act  of  Congress,  been 
expressly  approved.  In  further  reference  to  this  doc- 
trine he  said : 

**  The  doctrine  as  interpreted  in  the  light  of  these 
authoritative  declarations  assumes  that  the  Filipino  peo- 
ple are  of  future  capacity  but  not  of  present  fitness  for 
self-government,  and  that  they  may  be  taught  by  the 
gradual  extension  of  self-government  to  exercise  the  con- 
servative self-restraints  without  which  popular  govern- 
ment is  impossible.  .  .  . 

**  The  doctrine  does  not  include,  necessarily,  the  inde- 
pendence of  the  Filipino,  nor  any  particular  degree  of 
autonomy.  It  is  entirely  consistent  with  the  principle  to 
object  to  an  immediate  extension  of  popular  government 
on  the  ground  that  we  are  going  too  fast  for  the  political 
digestion  of  the  people,  and  that  it  is  not,  therefore,  for 
their  good.  Whether  an  autonomy  or  independence  or 
quasi  independence  shall  ultimately  follow  in  these  is- 
lands ought  to  depend  solely  on  the  question,  Is  it  best 
for  the  Filipino  people  and  their  welfare  ?  .  .  . 


APPENDIX  D  325 

**  I  think  I  have  demonstrated  by  what  I  have  quoted 
and  the  instances  I  have  cited  that  the  doctrine  '  The 
Philippines  for  the  Filipinos  '  is  one  which  the  honor  of 
the  United  States  requires  it  to  enforce  throughout  these 
islands.  Not  only  was  it  promised  to  the  Filipinos  when 
the  Americans  came,  after  they  had  been  here,  during  the 
insurrection,  and  at  its  close,  but  I  do  not  think  it  too 
much  to  say  that  the  reiteration  of  the  promises  as  shown 
in  legislation  carrying  out  these  principles  had  much  to 
do  with  bringing  about  the  present  tranquillity  in  these 
islands  ..." 

It  is  interesting  to  note  his  next  direct  reference  to 
this  matter,  because  it  shows  that  the  conditions  which 
existed  in  December  of  1903  are  still  existent.    He  said : 

**  There  are  many  Americans  in  these  islands,  possibly 
a  majority,  and  this  includes  all  the  American  press,  who 
are  strongly  opposed  to  the  doctrine  of  *  The  Philippines 
for  the  Filipinos.'  They  have  no  patience  with  the 
policy  of  attraction,  no  patience  with  attempts  to  con- 
ciliate the  Filipino  people,  no  patience  with  the  intro- 
duction into  the  government  as  rapidly  as  their  fitness 
justifies  of  the  prominent  Filipinos.  They  resent  every- 
thing in  the  government  that  is  not  American.  They  in- 
sist that  there  is  a  necessity  for  a  firm  government  here 
rather  than  a  popular  one,  and  that  the  welfare  of 
Americans  and  American  trade  should  be  regarded  as 
paramount.  It  is  possible  to  trace  the  history  of  the 
formation  of  these  views." 

And  he  then  proceeds  to  do  so,  in  the  course  of  which 
he  says: 

"  With  the  lack  of  logic,  so  characteristic  of  human 
nature,  the  merchant  who  finds  hard  times  coming  on, 


326     THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

the  business  man  whose  profits  are  not  so  great,  looks 
about  for  a  scapegoat  and  an  explanation,  and  he  finds 
it  in  the  wicked  civil  government  which  has  been  en- 
couraging the  natives  as  far  as  it  could ;  has  been  taking 
the  native  into  the  government  as  far  as  he  seemed  fitted ; 
is  doing  what  it  can  to  elevate  the  Filipino  people  and 
provide  for  their  welfare,  and  has  not  taken  the  Ameri- 
can merchant  under  its  especial  wing. ' ' 

It  is  particularly  interesting,  in  view  of  the  recent 
exaggerated  accounts  of  a  petty  disturbance  in  the  Is- 
lands, to  read  what  Mr.  Taft  said  concerning  such  occur- 
rences in  his  time : 

**  The  attitude  of  the  American  press  and  of  the 
American  merchant  in  his  hostility  to  the  Filipino  and 
in  the  consequent  hostility  to  the  civil  government  was 
led  into  the  error  at  one  time  of  emphasizing  in  every 
possible  way,  by  letters  and  representations  of  all  sorts, 
that  the  condition  of  the  country  as  to  tranquillity  was 
so  bad  that  the  whole  of  the  Islands  was  still  in  a  state 
of  war.  Every  small  ladrone  tight,  every  discomfiture 
which  the  constabulary  suiffered,  was  exaggerated  and 
made  the  basis  for  inference  that  the  conditions  in  the 
country  were  retrograding  rather  than  improving.  Such 
incidents  were  seized  upon  and  made  as  much  of  as  head- 
lines and  general  statements  could  make  them." 

And  further  on,  adverting  to  the  same  general  subject 
matter,  he  said : 

*'  When  one's  feelings  of  enmity  are  very  much 
aroused,  it  is  difficult  to  set  the  limit  to  the  expression 
of  them.  So  it  is  that  we  have  the  young  lions  of  the 
American  press,  of  the  three  newspapers  who  are  sup- 
posed to  speak  the  American  public  opinion  in  these 


APPENDIX  D  327 

islands,  holding  the  Filipino  up  to  contempt,  exposing 
all  his  supposed  vices  and  giving  him  no  credit  whatever 
for  any  virtues,  and  it  may  be  that  this  represents  the 
feeling  of  the  majority  of  the  resident  Americans  in 
Manila.  But  can  we  not  in  the  end  be  just  and  give  to 
the  whole  Filipino  people  their  due?  Should  we  wish 
the  Filipino  people  to  judge  of  Americans  by  the  drunken 
truculent  American  loafers  who  infest  the  small  towns 
of  these  islands,  living  on  the  fruits  of  the  labor  of 
Filipino  women,  and  give  us  more  trouble  than  any  other 
element  in  the  Islands?  Should  we  wish  the  Filipino 
people  to  judge  of  American  standards  of  honesty  by 
reading  the  humiliating  list  of  American  official  and 
unofficial  defaulters  in  these  islands?    I  think  not." 

In  referring  to  the  characteristics  of  the  Filipinos, 
Mr.  Taft  said: 

"  Contrast  the  Filipinos  with  other  Malays  and  the 
oriental  peoples,  and  I  ask  you  to  name  a  people  offering 
more  opportunities  for  development  along  the  lines  which 
American  ideals  require  than  the  people  of  these  is- 
lands. .  .  .  The  Filipino  people  as  a  people  have  breathed 
in  through  their  educated  leaders  the  inspiration  of 
liberty  and  free  government.  Many  of  them  have  fought, 
bled,  and  given  up  their  lives  in  a  struggle  for  independ- 
ence. .  .  .  Their  intense  desire  for  education,  their  ap- 
preciation of  European  and  American  improvements  in 
dress  and  bodily  comforts,  their  artistic  ambitions,  their 
quick  desire  and  power  to  imitate  the  good  they  see  and 
understand,  their  openness  to  the  reception  of  new  and 
better  things,  their  political  aspirations  for  liberty  and 
popular  government,  however  lacking  in  a  political 
knowledge  of  its  difficulties  and  real  essence  —  all  these 


328     THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

traits,  added  to  a  peculiar  social  sense  and  charm,  make 
them  a  people  peculiarly  subject  to  the  good  and  develop- 
ing influence  of  a  friendly  and  sympathetic  government 
in  which  they  are  given  a  gradually  increasing  part, 
and  justify  an  entirely  different  policy  in  dealing  M^ith 
them  and  promoting  their  welfare  from  that  which  Eng- 
land has  found  it  necessary  to  pursue  with  Mohammedan 
and  Buddhist  peoples,  having  neither  sympathy  with, 
nor  understanding  of,  modern  European  ideas." 

Finally,  in  referring  to  the  condition  of  tranquillity 
which  it  is  necessary  to  preserve  in  order  that  the  capi- 
tal which  is  imperatively  needed  to  stimulate  commerce 
should  come  to  the  Islands ;  he  said : 

**  Now,  what  has  produced  the  present  tranquillity? 
I  say  without  hesitation  that  the  chief  element  to-day  is 
the  confidence  which  the  conservative  people  of  the  Is- 
lands have  in  the  promises  of  the  United  States  to  make 
the  welfare  of  the  Filipinos  its  chief  purpose  in  remain- 
ing here  and  to  assist  them  sincerely  in  learning  the 
secret  of  self-government  by  gradually  enlarging  their 
political  power.  .  .  .  How  long  is  it  thought  we  could 
avail  ourselves  of  this  popular  support  if  we  repudiated 
our  national  promises  and  adopted  the  policy  of  re- 
pulsion and  repression,  dignified  under  the  name  *  the 
policy  of  a  firm  hand, '  and  if  we  said  to  the  people,  *  You 
are  not  to  be  trusted ;  the  offices  must  all  go  to  Ameri- 
cans; you  are  an  inferior  race  and  are  sufficiently  re- 
warded by  having  a  superior  race  to  come  here  and  run 
your  government  for  you'?  " 

President  McKinley,  in  referring  to  the  characteristics 
of  the  Filipinos,  said : 


APPENDIX  D  329 

"  The  Filipinos  are  a  race  quick  to  leam  and  to  profit 
by  knowledge.  He  would  be  rash  who,  with  the  teach- 
ings of  contemporaneous  history  in  view,  would  fix  a 
limit  to  the  degree  of  culture  and  advancement  yet  within 
the  reach  of  these  people  if  our  duty  toward  them  be 
faithfully  performed." 

In  adverting  to  the  Philippines  in  his  message  on  De- 
cember 6,  1904,  President  Roosevelt  said : 

*'  We  are  endeavoring  to  develop  the  natives  them- 
selves so  that  they  shall  take  an  ever-increasing  share  in 
their  own  government,  and  as  far  as  is  prudent  we  are 
already  admitting  their  representatives  to  a  govern- 
mental equality  with  our  own.  ...  If  they  show  that 
they  are  capable  of  electing  a  legislature  which  in  its 
turn  is  capable  of  taking  a  sane  and  efficient  part  in  the 
actual  work  of  the  government,  they  can  rest  assured  that 
a  full  and  increasing  measure  of  recognition  will  be  given 
them." 

And  in  1906  he  said: 

'  *  "We  are  constantly  increasing  the  measure  of  liberty 
accorded  the  islanders,  and  next  spring,  if  conditions 
warrant,  we  shall  take  a  great  stride  forward  in  testing 
their  capacity  for  self-government  by  summoning  the 
first  Filipino  legislative  assembly ;  and  the  way  in  which 
they  stand  this  test  will  largely  determine  whether  the 
self-government  thus  granted  will  be  increased  or  de- 
creased ;  for  if  we  have  erred  at  all  in  the  Philippines  it 
has  been  in  proceeding  too  rapidly  in  the  direction  of 
granting  a  large  measure  of  self-government. 

In  1908,  after  the  Philippine  Assembly  had  been 
opened,  President  Roosevelt,  in  his  message,  said : 


330     THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

**  Real  progress  toward  self-government  is  being  made 
in  the  Philippine  Islands."  And  in  referring  to  the 
assembly,  he  said: 

"  Hitherto  this  Philippine  Legislature  has  acted  with 
moderation  and  self-restraint  and  has  seemed,  in  prac- 
tical fashion,  to  realize  the  eternal  truth  that  there  must 
always  be  government,  and  that  the  only  way  in  which 
any  body  of  individuals  can  escape  the  necessity  of  being 
governed  by  outsiders  is  to  show  that  they  are  able  to  re- 
strain themselves,  to  keep  down  wrongdoing  and  dis- 
order. The  Filipino  people,  through  their  officials,  are 
therefore  making  real  steps  in  the  direction  of  self-gov- 
ernment. I  hope  and  believe  that  these  steps  mark  the 
beginning  of  a  course  which  will  continue  till  the  Fili- 
pinos become  fit  to  decide  for  themselves  whether  they 
desire  to  be  an  independent  nation.  .  .  .  All  we  can  do  is 
to  give  them  the  opportunity  to  develop  the  capacity  for 
self-government.  .  .  .  "We  can  not  give  them  self-gov- 
ernment save  in  the  sense  of  governing  them  so  that 
gradually  they  may,  if  they  are  able,  learn  to  govern 
themselves. ' ' 

He  adverts  to  the  fact  that  they  are  gradually  acquir- 
ing the  character  which  lies  at  the  basis  of  self-govern- 
ment and  then  says : 

**  I  trust  that  within  a  generation  the  time  will  arrive 
when  the  Filipinos  can  decide  for  themselves  whether  it 
is  well  for  them  to  become  independent  or  to  continue 
under  the  protection  of  a  strong  and  disinterested  power, 
able  to  guarantee  to  the  Islands  order  at  home  and  pro- 
tection from  foreign  invasion," 

When  Mr.  Taft  was  Secretary  of  War,  in  April,  1904, 
in  the  course  of  a  speech  upon  the  Philippines,  he  said : 


APPENDIX  D  331 

**  When  they  have  learned  the  principles  of  successful 
popular  self-government  from  a  gradually  enlarged  ex- 
perience therein,  we  can  discuss  the  question  whether 
independence  is  what  they  desire  and  grant  it,  or  whether 
they  prefer  the  retention  of  a  closer  association  with  the 
country  which,  by  its  guidance,  has  unselfishly  led  them 
on  to  better  conditions." 

In  1905  Mr.  Taft,  in  the  course  of  an  article  upon  the 
Philippines,  wrote: 

**  We  said  that  we  were  there  for  the  benefit  of  the 
Filipino  people ;  we  said  that  we  were  there  to  give  them 
as  much  of  self-government  as  they  could  stand,  and  we 
did  it.  We  may  have  given  them  a  little  more,  but  it  is 
a  good  deal  better  to  extend  it  a  little  beyond  what  they 
can  stand  and  teach  them  the  lesson  and  then  say  to 
them,  '  When  you  do  educate  yourselves  up  to  this  we 
will  extend  it  a  little  more  '  (as  we  have  had  occasion  to 
do  in  a  number  of  provinces)  than  it  is  to  give  them  the 
impression  that  we  were  deceiving  them  in  what  we  said 
we  wished  to  do  for  them.  One  of  the  chief  character- 
istics of  the  orientals  —  indeed,  one  of  the  chief  char- 
acteristics of  all  nations  that  are  ignorant  —  is  sus- 
picion and  distrust,  and  the  primary  rule  of  policy  in 
dealing  with  them  is  absolute  honesty  and  straightfor- 
wardness. ' ' 

On  August  11,  1905,  Mr.  Taft,  then  Secretary  of  War, 
speaking  in  Manila  and  expressing,  he  said,  the  senti- 
ments of  President  Roosevelt  throughout,  among  other 
things,  said: 

**  The  American  people  have  examined  into,  as  far  as 
may  be,  the  capacity  of  the  Filipino  people  to  be  de- 
veloped into  a  self-governing  nation ;  and  while  they  ad- 


332     THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

mit  that  the  proposition  to  make  them  a  self-governing 
people  is  an  experiment,  never  before  tried  with  a 
tropical  Malay  or  oriental  people,  they  believe  the  cir- 
cumstances to  be  such  that  if  the  high  national  purpose 
of  treating  them  as  sacred  wards  of  the  United  States 
and  of  dealing  with  them  in  every  way  for  their  benefit, 
for  their  own  elevation  and  for  their  own  education, 
shall  be  pursued,  free  from  a  desire  for  selfish  exploita- 
tion or  gain,  that  the  experiment  will  be  a  success. ' ' 

In  opening  the  Philippine  Assembly  on  the  16th  of 
October,  1907,  Mr.  Taft,  then  Secretary  of  War,  said : 

**  The  avowed  policy  of  the  National  Administration 
under  these  two  Presidents  has  been  and  is  to  govern 
the  Islands,  having  regard  to  the  interest  and  welfare  of 
the  Filipino  people,  and  by  the  spread  of  primary  gen- 
eral and  industrial  education  and  by  practice  in  partial 
political  control  to  fit  the  people  themselves  to  maintain 
a  stable  and  well-ordered  government  affording  equality 
of  right  and  opportunity  to  all  citizens.  The  policy 
looks  to  the  improvement  of  the  people  both  industrially 
and  in  self-governing  capacity.  As  this  policy  of  ex- 
tending control  continues,  it  must  logically  reduce  and 
finally  end  the  sovereignty  of  the  United  States  in  the 
Islands,  unless  it  shall  seem  wise  to  the  American  and 
the  Filipino  peoples,  on  account  of  mutually  beneficial 
trade  relations  and  possible  advantages  to  the  Islands  in 
their  foreign  relations,  that  the  bond  shall  not  be  com- 
pletely severed." 

In  a  special  report  made  by  Secretary  Taft  on  the 
Philippines  and  their  political  future,  with  special  refer- 
ence to  the  policy  which  had  been  pursued  there,  he 
said: 


APPENDIX  D  ^33 

"  The  conditions  in  the  Islands  to-day  vindicate  and 
justify  that  policy.  It  necessarily  involves  in  its  ulti- 
mate conclusion  as  the  steps  toward  self-government  be- 
come greater  and  greater  the  ultimate  independence  of 
the  Islands ;  although,  of  course,  if  both  the  United  States 
and  the  Islands  were  to  conclude  after  complete  self- 
government  were  possible,  that  it  would  be  mutually 
beneficial  to  continue  a  governmental  relation  between 
them  like  that  between  England  and  Australia,  there 
would  be  nothing  inconsistent  with  the  present  policy  in 
such  a  result. ' ' 

In  that  report  he  dwells  upon  the  necessity  of  the  edu- 
cation of  the  masses  of  the  people  with  a  view  of  en- 
abling them  intelligently  to  exercise  the  force  of  public 
opinion,  without  which  popular  self-government  is  im- 
possible, and  said  that  it  was  reasonable  then  to  say 
that  such  a  condition  could  not  be  reached  until  at  least 
one  generation  should  have  been  subject  to  the  process 
of  primary  and  industrial  education.  He  adverts  to 
the  fact  that  the  great  majority  of  the  people  undoubt- 
edly desired  immediate  independence,  but  he  thinks  that 
that  was  not  an  intelligent  judgment  based  upon  a  knowl- 
edge of  what  independence  means,  or  on  what  the  re- 
sponsibilities of  a  popular  government  are.  He  states  as 
his  belief  that  at  that  time  so  relatively  a  small  number 
were  sufficiently  educated  to  comprehend  self-govern- 
ment that  they  would  be  practically  an  oligarchy  and 
there  would  not  be  real  popular  self-government  partici- 
pated in  by  the  mass  of  the  people,  and  that  the  further 
presence  and  authority  of  the  Americans  was  necessary 
in  the  Islands  to  develop  these  lower  classes  and  preserve 
their  rights ;  saying,  in  this  connection : 


334     THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

**  If  the  American  Government  can  only  remain  in 
the  Islands  long  enough  to  educate  the  entire  people,  to 
give  them  a  language  which  enables  them  to  come  into 
contact  with  modem  civilization,  and  to  extend  to  them 
from  time  to  time  additional  political  rights  so  that  by 
the  exercise  of  them  they  shall  learn  the  use  and  re- 
sponsibilities necessary  to  their  proper  exercise,  inde- 
pendence can  be  granted  with  entire  safety  to  the  peo- 
ple. I  have  an  abiding  conviction  that  the  Filipino 
people  are  capable  of  being  taught  self-govern- 
ment. .  .  ." 

Further  on  he  says : 

**  Thus  far  the  policy  of  the  Philippines  has  worked. 
It  has  been  attacked  on  the  ground  that  we  have  gone  too 
fast,  that  we  have  given  the  natives  too  much  power. 
The  meeting  of  the  assembly  and  the  conservative  tone  of 
that  body  thus  far  disclosed  makes  for  our  view  rather 
than  that  of  our  opponents ;  but  had  the  result  been  en- 
tirely different  with  the  assembly,  and  had  there  been  a 
violent  outbreak  at  first  in  its  deliberations  and  attempts 
at  obstruction,  I  should  not  have  been  in  the  least  dis- 
couraged, because  ultimately  I  should  have  had  confi- 
dence that  the  assembly  would  learn  how  foolish  such  ex- 
hibitions were  and  how  little  good  they  accomplished  for 
the  members  of  the  assembly  or  the  people  whom  they 
represented.  The  fact  that  this  natural  tendency  was 
restrained  is  an  indication  of  the  general  conservatism  of 
the  Filipino  people. ' ' 

In  a  message  delivered  on  the  6th  of  December,  1912, 
President  Taft  said: 

**  We  should  .  .  .  endeavor  to  secure  for  the  Filipinos 
economic  independence  and  to  fit  them  for  complete  self- 


APPENDIX  D  335 

government,  with  the  power  to  decide  eventually,  accord- 
ing to  their  own  largest  good,  whether  such  self-govern- 
ment shall  be  accompanied  by  independence." 

On  the  1st  of  March,  1913,  President  Taft  adverted 
to  the  Democratic  platform  with  reference  to  the  Philip- 
pines and  quoted  that  portion  of  it  which  referred  to  the 
purpose  of  the  United  States  to  "  recognize  the  independ- 
ence of  the  Philippine  Islands  as  soon  as  a  stable  govern- 
ment can  be  established,"  and  said  that  this  was  "  an 
affirmation  of  policy  only  slightly  differing  from  that 
repeatedly  announced  by  this  and  preceding  Republi- 
can administrations." 

Governor  General  W.  Cameron  Forbes,  in  his  farewell 
speech  before  leaving  the  Islands,  made  the  statement 
**  that  the  platforms  of  both  parties  reached  the  same 
general  conclusion  in  regard  to  the  granting  of  independ- 
ence when  a  stable  government  should  be  established." 
He  subsequently,  in  a  published  speech  in  this  country, 
corrected  this  statement  to  the  extent  of  substituting  the 
word  "  policies  "  for  the  word  ''  platforms." 

In  an  article  published  in  "  Everybody's  Magazine  " 
for  January,  1915,  Mr.  Roosevelt  said : 

**  The  first  and  most  important  thing  for  us  as  a 
people  to  do  in  order  to  prepare  ourselves  for  self-de- 
fense is  to  get  clearly  in  our  minds  just  what  our  policy 
is  to  be,  and  to  insist  that  our  public  servants  shall  make 
their  words  and  their  deeds  correspond.  For  example, 
the  present  administration  was  elected  on  the  explicit 
promise  that  the  Philippines  should  be  given  their  inde- 
pendence, and  it  has  taken  action  in  the  Philippines 
which  can  only  be  justified  on  the  theory  that  their  inde- 
pendence is  to  come  in  the  immediate  future.    I  be- 


336     THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

lieve  that  we  have  rendered  incalculable  service  to  the 
Philippines,  and  that  what  we  have  there  done  has 
shown  in  the  most  striking  manner  the  extreme  mischief 
that  would  have  followed  if  in  1898  and  in  subsequent 
years  we  had  failed  to  do  our  duty  in  consequence  of 
following  the  advice  of  Mr.  Bryan  and  the  pacificists  or 
anti-imperialists  of  that  day. 

"  But  this  good  has  been  to  the  Philippines  them- 
selves. The  only  good  that  has  come  to  us  as  a  nation 
has  been  the  good  that  springs  from  knowledge  that  a 
great  deed  has  been  worthily  performed.  Personally,  I 
think  it  is  a  fine  and  high  thing  for  a  nation  to  have  done 
such  a  deed  with  such  a  purpose.  But  we  can  not  taint 
it  with  bad  faith.  If  we  act  so  that  the  natives  under- 
stand us  to  have  made  a  definite  promise,  then  we  should 
live  up  to  that  promise.  The  Philippines  from  a  mili- 
tary standpoint  are  a  source  of  weakness  to  us.  The 
present  administration  has  promised  explicitly  to  let 
them  go,  and  by  its  actions  has  rendered  it  difficult  to 
hold  them  against  any  serious  foreign  foe.  These  being 
the  circumstances,  the  Islands  should  at  an  early  mo- 
ment be  given  their  independence  without  any  guarantee 
whatever  by  us  and  without  our  retaining  any  foothold 
in  them.'* 


APPENDIX  E 

DEMOCRATIC  PLATFORMS  ON  THE 
PHILIPPINES 

1900 

We  declare  again  that  all  governments  instituted 
among  men  derive  their  just  powers  from  the  consent 
of  the  governed;  that  any  government  not  based  upon 
the  consent  of  the  governed  is  a  tyranny,  and  that  to 
Impose  upon  any  people  a  government  of  force  is  to  sub- 
stitute the  methods  of  imperialism  for  those  of  a  re- 
public. 

We  assert  that  no  nation  can  long  endure  half  republic 
and  half  empire,  and  we  warn  the  American  people  that 
imperialism  abroad  will  lead  quickly  and  inevitably  to 
despotism  at  home. 

We  condemn  and  denounce  the  Philippine  policy  of 
the  present  Administration. 

The  Filipinos  cannot  be  citizens  without  endangering 
our  civilization;  they  cannot  be  subjects  without  im- 
periling our  form  of  government ;  and  as  we  are  not  will- 
ing to  surrender  our  civilization  nor  to  convert  the  re- 
public into  an  empire  we  favor  an  immediate  declara- 
tion of  the  nation's  purpose  to  give  the  Filipinos,  first,  a 
stable  form  of  government;  second,  independence;  and 
third,  protection  from  outside  interference,  such  as  has 

337 


338     THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

given  for  nearly  a  century  to  the  republics  of  Central 
and  South  America. 

1904 

"We  oppose,  as  fervently  as  did  George  Washington 
himself,  an  indefinite,  irresponsible,  discretionary,  and 
vague  absolutism  and  a  policy  of  colonial  exploitation, 
no  matter  where  or  by  whom  invoked  or  exercised.  We 
believe,  with  Thomas  Jefferson  and  John  Adams,  that  no 
government  has  a  right  to  make  one  set  of  laws  for  those 
"  at  home  "  and  another  and  a  different  set  of  laws, 
absolute  in  their  character,  for  those  *'  in  the  colonies." 
All  men  under  the  American  flag  are  entitled  to  the 
protection  of  the  institutions  whose  emblem  the  flag  is. 
If  they  are  inherently  unfit  for  those  institutions,  then 
they  are  inherently  unfit  to  be  members  of  the  Ameri- 
can body  politic.  Wherever  there  may  exist  a  people  in- 
capable of  being  governed  under  American  laws,  in 
consonance  with  the  American  Constitution,  the  territory 
of  that  people  ought  not  to  be  part  of  the  American  do- 
main. 

We  insist  that  we  ought  to  do  for  the  Filipinos  what 
we  have  done  already  for  the  Cubans,  and  it  is  our  duty 
to  make  that  promise  now  and  upon  suitable  guarantees 
of  protection  to  citizens  of  our  own  and  other  countries 
resident  there  at  the  time  of  our  withdrawal,  set  the 
Filipino  people  upon  their  feet,  free  and  independent  to 
work  out  their  own  destiny. 

1908 

We  condemn  the  experiment  in  imperialism  as  an  in- 
excusable blunder  which  has  involved  us  in  enormous 


APPENDIX  E  339 

expenses,  brought  us  weakness  instead  of  strength,  and 
laid  our  nation  open  to  the  charge  of  abandoning  a 
fundamental  doctrine  of  self-government.  We  favor  an 
immediate  declaration  of  the  nation's  purpose  to  recog- 
nize the  independence  of  the  Philippine  Islands  as  soon 
as  a  stable  government  can  be  established,  such  independ- 
ence to  be  guaranteed  by  us  as  we  guarantee  the  inde- 
pendence of  Cuba,  until  the  neutralization  of  the  Islands 
can  be  secured  by  treaty  with  other  powers.  In  recog- 
nizing the  independence  of  the  Philippines  our  Govern- 
ment should  retain  such  land  as  may  be  necessary  for 
coaling  stations  and  naval  bases. 

1912 

"We  reaflSrm  the  position  thrice  announced  by  the 
Democracy  in  national  convention  assembled  against  a 
policy  of  imperialism  and  colonial  exploitation  in  the 
Philippines  or  elsewhere.  We  condemn  the  experiment 
in  imperialism  as  an  inexcusable  blunder,  which  has  in- 
volved us  in  enormous  expenses,  brought  us  weakness 
instead  of  strength,  and  laid  our  nation  open  to  the 
charge  of  abandonment  of  the  fundamental  doctrine  of 
self-government.  We  favor  an  immediate  declaration 
of  the  nation's  purpose  to  recognize  the  independence 
of  the  Philippine  Islands  as  soon  as  a  stable  government 
can  be  established,  such  independence  to  be  guaranteed 
by  us  until  the  neutralization  of  the  Islands  can  be  se- 
cured by  treaty  with  our  powers. 

In  recognizing  the  independence  of  the  Philippines 
our  Government  should  retain  such  land  as  may  be  neces- 
sary for  coaling  stations  and  naval  bases. 


APPENDIX  F 

PRESIDENT  WILSON'S  POSITION  ON  THE 
PHILIPPINES 

Self-government  is  not  a  mere  form  of  institutions, 
to  be  had  when  desired,  if  only  proper  pains  be  taken; 
it  is  a  form  of  character.  It  follows  upon  the  long 
discipline  which  gives  the  people  self-possession,  self- 
mastery;  the  habit  of  order  and  business  and  common 
counsel,  and  reverence  for  law  which  alone  follow  when 
they  themselves  become  the  makers  of  law ;  the  steadiness, 
the  self-control  of  political  maturity  —  and  these  things 
cannot  be  had  without  long  discipline. 

The  distinction  is  of  vital  concern  to  us  in  respect  to 
practical  choices  of  policy  which  we  must  make,  and 
make  very  soon.  We  have  dependencies  to  deal  with, 
and  must  deal  with  them  in  the  true  spirit  of  our  own 
institutions.  We  can  give  the  Filipinos  constitutional 
government,  a  government  which  they  may  count  upon 
to  be  just  —  a  government  based  upon  some  clear  and 
equitable  understanding,  intended  for  their  good  and 
not  for  our  aggrandizement  —  but  we  must  ourselves  for 
the  present  supply  that  government.  It  would,  it  is  true, 
be  an  unprecedented  operation,  reversing  the  process  of 
Runnyraede,  but  America  has  before  this  shown  the 
world  enlightened  policies  of  politics  that  were  without 
precedence.  It  would  have  been  within  the  choice  of 
King  John  to  summon  his  barons  to  Runnymede  of  his 

340 


APPENDIX  F  341 

own  initiative  and  enter  into  a  constitutional  under- 
standing with  them,  and  it  is  within  our  choice  to  do  a 
similar  thing,  at  once  and  wise  and  generous  in  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  Philippine  Islands. 

But  we  can  not  give  them  self-government.  Self-gov- 
ernment is  not  a  thing  that  can  be  given  to  any  people, 
because  it  is  a  form  of  character  and  not  a  form  of 
constitution.  No  people  can  be  given  the  self-control  of 
maturity.  Only  the  long  apprenticeship  of  competence 
can  secure  them  the  precious  possession  —  a  thing  no 
more  to  be  bought  than  given.  They  cannot  be  pre- 
sented with  the  character  of  a  community ;  but  it  can  be 
confidently  hoped  that  they  will  become  a  community 
under  the  wholesome  operation  of  just  laws  and  a  sympa- 
thetic administration ;  that  they  will,  after  a  while,  un- 
derstand and  master  themselves,  if  in  the  meantime  they 
are  understood  and  served  in  good  conscience  by  those 
set  over  them  in  authority. 

We,  of  all  people  in  the  world,  should  know  these 
fundamental  things  and  should  act  upon  them,  if  only 
to  illustrate  the  mastery  in  politics  which  belongs  to  us 
of  hereditary  right.  To  ignore  them  would  be  not  only 
to  fail  and  fail  miserably  but  to  fail  ridiculously,  and  to 
belie  ourselves.  Having  ourselves  gained  self-govern- 
ment by  a  definite  process  which  can  have  no  substitute, 
let  us  put  the  peoples  dependent  upon  us  in  the  right  way 
to  gain  it  also. 

From  his  hook  on  "  Constitutional  Government  "  pub- 
lished in  1908. 

In  dealing  with  the  Philippines,  we  should  not  allow 
ourselves  to  stand  upon  any  mere  point  of  pride,  as  if, 


342      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

in  order  to  keep  our  countenance  in  the  family  of  na- 
tions, it  were  necessary  for  us  to  make  the  same  blunders 
'  of  selfishness  that  other  nations  have  made.  We  are  not 
owners  of  the  Philippine  Islands.  "We  hold  them  in  trust 
for  the  people  who  live  in  them.  They  are  theirs  for  the 
uses  of  their  life.  We  are  not  even  their  partners.  It 
is  our  duty  as  trustees,  to  make  whatever  arrangement 
of  government  will  be  most  serviceable  to  their  freedom 
and  development.  Here,  again,  we  are  to  set  up  the  rule 
of  justice  and  of  right. 

From  his  speech  of  acceptance  of  the  Democratic  nomina- 
tion, 1912. 

The  Philippines  are  at  present  our  frontier,  but  I  hope 
we  presently  are  to  deprive  ourselves  of  that  frontier. 
From  a  report  of  his  speech  at  Staunton,  Virginia,  Dec- 
emler  28,  1912. 

We  regard  ourselves  as  trustees  acting  not  for  the 
advantage  of  the  United  States  but  for  the  benefit  of  the 
people  of  the  Philippine  Islands. 

Every  step  we  take  will  be  taken  with  a  view  to  the 
ultimate  independence  of  the  Islands  and  as  a  prepara- 
tion for  that  independence.  And  we  hope  to  move  to- 
ward that  end  as  rapidly  as  the  safety  and  the  perma- 
nent interests  of  the  Islands  will  permit.  After  each 
step  taken,  experience  will  guide  us  to  the  next. 

The  administration  will  take  one  step  at  once  and  will 
give  to  the  native  citizens  of  the  Islands  a  majority  in 
the  appointive  commission,  and  thus  in  the  upper  as  well 
as  in  the  lower  house  of  the  legislature  a  majority  repre- 
sentation will  be  secured  to  them. 


APPENDIX  F  343 

We  do  this  in  the  confident  hope  and  expectation  that 
immediate  proof  will  be  given,  in  the  action  of  the  Com- 
mission under  the  new  arrangement,  of  the  political 
capacity  of  those  native  citizens  who  have  already  come 
forward  to  represent  and  to  lead  their  people  in  affairs. 
Message  to  the  Filipino  people  delivered  J)y  Governor 
Harrison  in  Manila,  October  6,  1913. 

Outside  the  charmed  circle  of  our  own  national  life 
in  which  our  affections  command  us,  as  well  as  our  con- 
sciences, there  stand  out  our  obligations  toward  our 
territories  over  sea.  Here  we  are  trustees.  Porto  Rico, 
Hawaii,  the  Philippines,  are  ours,  indeed,  but  not  ours 
to  do  what  we  please  with.  Such  territories,  once  re- 
garded as  mere  possessions,  are  no  longer  to  be  selfishly 
exploited ;  they  are  part  of  the  domain  of  public  con- 
science and  of  serviceable  and  enlightened  statesman- 
ship. We  must  administer  them  for  the  people  who 
live  in  them  and  with  the  same  sense  of  responsibil- 
ity to  them  as  toward  our  own  people  in  our  domestic 
affairs.  No  doubt  we  shall  successfully  enough  bind 
Porto  Rico  and  the  Hawaiian  Islands  to  ourselves  by 
ties  of  justice  and  interest  and  affection,  but  the  per- 
formance of  our  duty  toward  the  Philippines  is  a  more 
diflScult  and  debatable  matter.  We  can  satisfy  the  obli- 
gations of  generous  justice  toward  the  people  of  Porto 
Rico  by  giving  them  the  ample  and  familiar  rights  and 
privileges  accorded  our  own  citizens  in  our  own  terri- 
tories and  our  obligations  toward  the  people  of  Hawaii 
by  perfecting  the  provisions  for  self-government  already 
granted  them,  but  in  the  Philippines  we  must  go  fur- 
ther.   W«  must  hold  steadily  in  view  their  ultimate  in- 


344      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

dependence,  and  we  must  move  toward  the  time  of  that 
independence  as  steadily  as  the  way  can  be  cleared 
and  the  foundations  thoughtfully  and  permanently 
laid. 

Acting  under  the  authority  conferred  upon  the  Presi- 
dent by  Congress,  I  have  already  accorded  the  people  of 
the  Islands  a  majority  in  both  houses  of  their  legislative 
body  by  appointing  five  instead  of  four  native  citizens 
to  the  membership  of  the  Commission.  I  believe  that  in 
this  way  we  shall  make  proof  of  their  capacity  in  counsel 
and  their  sense  of  responsibility  in  the  exercise  of  polit- 
ical power,  and  that  the  success  of  this  step  will  be  sure 
to  clear  our  view  for  the  steps  which  are  to  follow.  Step 
by  step  we  should  extend  and  perfect  the  system  of  self- 
government  in  the  Islands,  making  test  of  them  and 
modifying  them  as  experience  discloses  their  successes 
and  their  failures;  so  that  we  should  more  and  more 
put  under  the  control  of  the  native  citizens  of  the  archi- 
pelago the  essential  instruments  of  their  life,  their  local 
instrumentalities  of  government,  their  schools,  all  the 
common  interests  of  their  communities,  and  so  by  counsel 
and  experience  set  up  a  government  which  all  the  world 
will  see  to  be  suitable  to  a  people  whose  affairs  are  under 
their  own  control.  At  last,  I  hope  and  believe,  we  are 
beginning  to  gain  the  confidence  of  the  Filipino  people. 
By  their  counsel  and  experience,  rather  than  by  our 
own,  we  shall  learn  how  best  to  serve  them  and  how  soon 
it  will  be  possible  and  wise  to  withdraw  our  supervision. 
Let  us  once  find  the  path  and  set  out  with  firm  and  con- 
fident tread  upon  it  and  we  shall  not  wander  from  it  nor 
linger  upon  it. 

From  his  Message  to  Congress,  December  2, 1913. 


APPENDIX  F  345 

There  is  another  great  piece  of  legislation  which  awaits 
and  should  receive  the  sanction  of  the  Senate:  I  mean 
the  bill  which  gives  a  larger  measure  of  self-government 
to  the  people  of  the  Philippines.  How  better,  in  this 
time  of  anxious  questioning  and  perplexed  policy,  could 
we  show  our  confidence  in  the  principles  of  liberty,  as 
the  source  as  well  as  the  expression  of  life,  how  better 
could  we  demonstrate  our  own  self-possession  and  stead- 
fastness in  the  courses  of  justice  and  disinterestedness 
than  by  thus  going  calmly  forward  to  fulfil  our  promises 
to  a  dependent  people,  who  will  now  look  more  anxiously 
than  ever  to  see  whether  we  have  indeed  the  liberality, 
the  unselfishness,  the  courage,  the  faith  we  have  boasted 
and  professed,  I  cannot  believe  that  the  Senate  will  let 
this  great  measure  of  constructive  justice  await  the 
action  of  another  Congress.  Its  passage  would  nobly 
crown  the  record  of  these  two  years  of  memorable  labor. 

From  his  Message  to  Congress,  December  8, 1914. 

Our  principles  are  well  known.  It  is  not  necessary 
to  avow  them  again.  We  believe  in  political  liberty 
and  founded  our  great  Government  to  obtain  it,  the 
liberty  of  men  and  of  peoples  —  of  men  to  choose  their 
own  lives  and  of  peoples  to  choose  their  own  allegiance. 
Our  ambition,  also,  all  the  world  has  knowledge  of.  It 
is  not  only  to  be  free  and  prosperous  ourselves,  but  also 
to  be  the  friend  and  thoughtful  partizan  of  those  who 
are  free  or  who  desire  freedom  the  world  over. 

If  we  have  had  aggressive  purposes  and  covetous  am- 
bitions, they  were  the  fruit  of  our  thoughtless  youth 
as  a  nation  and  we  have  put  them  aside.  We  shall,  I 
confidently  believe,  never  again  take  another  foot  of 


346     THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

territory  by  conquest.  We  shall  never  in  any  circum- 
stances seek  to  make  an  independent  people  subject  to 
our  dominion;  because  we  believe,  we  passionately  be- 
lieve, in  the  right  of  every  people  to  choose  their  own 
allegiance  and  be  free  of  masters  altogether. 

For  ourselves  we  wish  nothing  but  the  full  liberty  of 
self -development ;  and  with  ourselves  in  this  great  mat- 
ter we  associate  all  the  peoples  of  our  own  hemisphere. 
We  wish  not  only  for  the  United  States,  but  for  them 
the  fullest  freedom  of  independent  growth  and  of  action, 
for  we  know  that  throughout  this  hemisphere  the  same 
aspirations  are  everywhere  being  worked  out,  under 
diverse  conditions,  but  with  the  same  impulse  and  ulti- 
mate object. 

From  his  Address  to  the  Manhattan  Club  at  New  York, 
November  4,  1915. 

There  is  another  matter  which  seems  to  me  to  be  very 
intimately  associated  with  the  question  of  national  safety 
and  preparation  for  defense.  That  is  our  policy  toward 
the  Philippines  and  the  people  of  Porto  Rico.  Our 
treatment  of  them  and  their  attitude  toward  us  are  mani- 
festly of  the  first  consequence  in  the  development  of  our 
duties  in  the  world  and  in  getting  a  free  hand  to  per- 
form those  duties.  We  must  be  free  from  every  unneces- 
sary burden  or  embarrassment;  and  there  is  no  better 
way  to  be  clear  of  embarrassment  than  to  fulfil  our 
promises  and  promote  the  interests  of  those  dependent 
on  us  to  the  utmost.  Bills  for  the  alteration  and  reform 
of  the  government  of  the  Philippines  and  for  rendering 
fuller  political  justice  to  the  people  of  Porto  Rico  were 
submitted  to  the  Sixty-third  Congress.    They  wiU  be 


APPENDIX  F  347 

submitted  also  to  you.  I  need  not  particularize  their 
details.  You  are  most  of  you  already  familiar  with 
them.  But  I  do  recommend  them  to  your  early  adoption 
with  the  sincere  conviction  that  there  are  few  measures 
you  could  adopt  which  would  more  serviceably  clear  the 
way  for  the  great  policies  by  which  we  wish  to  make 
good,  now  and  always,  our  right  to  lead  in  enterprises  of 
peace  and  good  will  and  economic  and  political  freedom. 
From  his  Message  to  Congress,  December  7, 1915. 


APPENDIX  G 

THIRD  PHILIPPINE  LEGISLATURE 
PHILIPPINE  ASSEMBLY 

SECOND   SESSION 

RESOLUTION  FORWARDING  TO  THE  PRESIDENT  OF  THE 
UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA,  THROUGH  THE  GOVERNOR- 
GENERAL  OF  THE  PHILIPPINE  ISLANDS,  A  MESSAGE 
FROM  THE  PHILIPPINE  ASSEMBLY,  IN  THE  NAME  OF 
THE  PEOPLE  OF  THE  PHILIPPINES. 

"Whereas  the  President  of  the  United  States  has, 
through  the  Governor-General,  Honorable  Francis  Bur- 
ton Harrison,  sent  a  message  to  the  people  of  the  Philip- 
pine Islands,  which  message  was  duly  communicated  on 
the  sixth  day  of  October,  nineteen  hundred  and  thirteen, 
and  reads  as  follows: 

**  We  regard  ourselves  as  trustees  acting  not  for  the 
advantage  of  the  United  States  but  for  the  benefit  of  the 
people  of  the  Philippine  Islands. 

"  Every  step  we  take  will  be  taken  with  a  view  to 
the  ultimate  independence  of  the  Islands  and  as  a  prepa- 
ration for  that  independence,  and  we  hope  to  move  to- 
wards that  end  as  rapidly  as  the  safety  and  the  perma- 
nent interests  of  the  Islands  will  permit.  After  each 
step  taken  experience  will  guide  as  to  the  next. 

**  The  administration  will  take  one  step  at  once  and 

348 


APPENDIX  G  349 

will  give  to  the  native  citizens  of  the  Islands  a  majority 
in  the  appointive  Commission  and  thus  in  the  Upper  as 
well  as  in  the  Lower  House  of  the  Legislature  a  ma- 
jority representation  will  be  secured  to  them. 

"  We  do  this  in  the  confident  hope  and  expectation 
that  immediate  proof  will  be  given,  in  the  action  of  the 
Commission  under  the  new  arrangement,  of  the  political 
capacity  of  those  native  citizens  who  have  already  come 
forward  to  represent  and  to  lead  their  people  in  affairs." 

Now,  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  the  Philippine  Assembly,  in  the  name 
of  the  people  of  the  Philippine  Islands,  do,  and  hereby 
does,  request  the  Chief  Executive  thereof  to  be  pleased 
to  transmit  to  the  President  of  the  United  States  the 
following  Reply-Message : 

**  We,  the  Representatives  of  the  Filipino  people,  con- 
stituting the  Philippine  Assembly,  solemnly  declare: 

**  That  it  is  evident  to  us  that  the  Filipino  people  has 
the  right  to  be  free  and  independent,  so  that,  in  advanc- 
ing alone  along  the  road  of  progress,  it  will  on  its  own  re- 
sponsibility work  out  its  prosperity  and  manage  its  own 
destinies  for  all  the  purposes  of  life.  This  was  the  as- 
piration of  the  people  when  it  took  up  arms  against 
Spain,  and  the  presence  of  the  American  flag,  first  on 
Manila  Bay,  and  then  in  the  interior  of  the  Archipelago, 
did  not  modify,  but  rather  encourage  and  strengthen 
the  aspiration,  despite  all  the  reverses  suffered  in  war 
and  difficulties  encountered  in  peace.  Being  called  to 
the  ballot  box,  the  people  again  and  again  ratified  this 
aspiration,  and  since  the  inauguration  of  the  Assembly, 
the  national  representative  body  has  been  acting  in 
accordance  with  the  popular  will  only.     Thus,  in  the 


350      THE  CASE  FOR  THE  FILIPINOS 

midst  of  the  most  adverse  circumstances,  the  ideal  of  the 
people  never  wavered  and  was  respectfully  and  frankly 
brought  before  the  powers  of  the  sovereign  country 
on  every  propitious  occasion. 

"  On  the  other  hand,  our  faith  in  the  justice  of  the 
American  people  was  as  great  and  persistent  as  our 
ideal.  We  have  waited  in  patience,  confident  that 
sooner  or  later  all  errors  and  injustices  would  be  re- 
dressed. The  message  of  the  President  of  the  United 
States  to  the  Filipino  people  is  eloquent  proof  that  we 
have  not  waited  in  vain. 

* '  We  accept  said  message  with  love  and  gratitude  and 
consider  it  a  categorical  declaration  of  the  purpose  of 
the  American  nation  to  recognize  the  independence  of 
the  Islands.  The  immediate  step  of  granting  us  a  ma- 
jority on  the  Commission  places  in  our  hands  the  instru- 
ments of  power  and  responsibility  for  the  establishment 
by  ourselves  of  a  stable  Filipino  Government.  We  fully 
appreciate  and  are  deeply  grateful  for  the  confidence 
reposed  in  us  by  the  Government  of  the  United  States. 
We  look  upon  the  appointment  of  the  Honorable  Francis 
Burton  Harrison  as  governor-general  as  the  unmistak- 
able harbinger  of  the  new  era,  in  which  we  expect  the 
attitude  of  the  people  to  be  one  of  decided  cooperation 
and  support.  We  believe  that  happily  the  experiments 
of  imperialism  have  come  to  an  end,  and  that  colonial  ex- 
ploitation has  passed  into  history.  The  epoch  of  mis- 
trust has  been  closed,  and  the  Filipinos,  upon  having 
thrown  open  to  them  the  doors  of  opportunity,  are  re- 
quired to  assume  the  burden  of  responsibility,  which  it 
would  be  inexcusable  cowardice  on  their  part  to  avoid 
or  decline.    Owing  to  this,  few  days  have  sufficed  to 


APPENDIX  G  351 

bring  about  a  good  understanding  between  Americans 
and  Filipinos,  which  it  had  been  impossible  to  establish 
during  the  thirteen  years  past.  "We  are  convinced  that 
every  onward  step,  while  relieving  the  American  Gov- 
ernment of  its  responsibilities  in  the  Islands,  will,  as  in 
the  past,  fully  demonstrate  the  present  capacity  of  the 
Filipino  people  to  establish  a  government  of  its  own  and 
guarantee  in  a  permanent  manner  the  safety  under  such 
government  of  the  life,  property,  and  liberty  of  the  resi- 
dents of  the  Islands,  national  as  well  as  foreign.  "We 
do  not  wish  to  say  by  this  that  there  will  not  be  diffi- 
culties and  embarrassments.  Nor  do  we  even  expect  that 
the  campaign,  open  or  concealed,  of  the  enemies  of  the 
Filipino  cause  will  cease  soon,  but  we  feel  sure  that 
through  a  conservative  use  of  the  powers  entrusted  to  us, 
the  Filipino  people  will,  with  God's  favor  and  the  help 
of  America,  emerge  triumphantly  from  the  test,  however 
difficult  it  may  be." 

Resolved,  further,  That  a  committee  of  seven,  ap- 
pointed by  the  Speaker  of  the  Assembly,  wait  upon  the 
Governor-General  in  his  office  and  deliver  to  him  this 
resolution,  duly  certified. 

Adopted,  October  16,  1913. 

I  hereby  certify  that  the  foregoing  Resolution  (A.  R. 
No.  87)  was  adopted  by  the  Assembly  on  October  16, 

1913. 

Teodoro  M.  Kalaw, 
Secretary,  Philippine  Assembly. 


INDEX 


INDEX 


(Phils.— Philippines;    Phil.—  Philippine;    Fils.- Filipinos.) 
Acquisition  of  the  Phils.,  18-     Barrett,  John,  159. 


41 ;    commercial    considera- 
tions in,  22-24. 
Agoncillo,  Felipe,  flight  of,  to 
Canada,   78;    letters  of,   to 
State   Department,    62,    63; 
memorial  of,  to  Senate,  64- 
78;  mission  of,  abroad,  61. 
Aguinaldo,    Emilio,    character 
of,  67;  compared  to  Sitting 
Bull,    113;    government    of, 
158 ;  letter  of,  to  McKinley, 
68. 
Allen,  Senator,  50. 
Allison,  Senator,  132. 
Andr^,  Consul,  30,  31. 
Anti-Imperialist    League,    ac- 
tivities of,  100;  attitude  of, 
towards  the  Fils.,  102-105; 
foundation  of,  98;  on  friar 
land  question,   193;  growth 
of,    99;    opposition    of,    to 
treaty   of    Paris,    45;    plat- 
form  of,   101-102;   support- 
ers of,  99,  100. 
Assembly,      Phil.,      establish- 
ment   of,    132-146;    resolu- 
tions   of,    petitioning    inde- 
pendence, 182,  220,  239,  348- 
351. 

Bacon,  Senator,  prophecy  of, 
as  to  opening  of  hostilities, 
50;  independence  resolution 
of,  45-^7. 


Bell,  Major,  30,  70. 

"  Benevolent  assimilation  " 
proclamation,  49,  82-87. 

Beveridge,  Senator,  21,  132. 

Bryan,  William  J.,  on  causes 
of  outbreak  of  Filipino- 
American  War,  96;  on  im- 
perialism, 116 ;  Phil,  views 
of,  in  1900,  108,  110,  117; 
support  of,  to  the  treaty  of 
Paris,  51,  55. 

Canada's  status  compared 
with  that  of  Phils.,  188. 

Capacity  of  Fils.  {See  Fil.,  ca- 
pacity of,  for  self-govern- 
ment). 

Carmack,  Senator,  129. 

Carpenter,  Frank,  194. 

China,  partition  of,  as  motive 
for  Phil,  retention,  22. 

Clapp,  Senator,  233,  236. 

Clarke  Amendment  to  Jones 
Bill,  223-245;  full  text  of, 
224,  225 ;  indorsement  of,  by 
Phil,  Assembly,  228;  objec- 
tion to,  by  the  President, 
223 ;  passage  of,  in  the  Sen- 
ate, 226,  227. 

Cleveland,  President,  5,  99. 

Commercial  considerations  in 
Phil,  acquisition,  22-24. 

Commission,  First  Phil.,  87; 
Second  Phil.,  94. 


355 


356 


INDEX 


Cooper,  Congressman  Henry 
A.,  as  chairman  of  Insular 
Affairs  Committee,  133 ;  on 
progress  of  independence 
cause,  211,  212  ;  supports  es- 
tablisliment  of  Phil.  Assem- 
bly, 133,  142-145. 

Cost  of  Phil,  retention,  125, 
230,  231. 

Cuba,  relations  of,  with  United 
States,  3-17;  Cuban  and 
Phil,  questions  compared,  3, 
4,  107. 

Cummins,  Senator,  221. 

Day,  William  R.,  27,  31,  34, 
37. 

Davis,  Cushman  C,  27,  38,  40. 

Del  Pan,  Rafael,  194. 

Democratic  Party,  attitude  of, 
towards  the  Phils.,  98,  104, 
107-110,  195,  337-339. 

Denby,  Charles,  87. 

Dewey,  Admiral,  30,  182; 
cable  to,  re  Phil,  informa- 
tion, 26,  27;  on  Filipino  ca- 
pacity for  self-government, 
47,  158;  plan  of,  to  take 
Manila,  19,  20;  victory  of, 
on  Manila  Bay,  20,  21. 

Eamshaw,    Manuel,    176. 
Education    among    the    Fils., 

184,  230. 
Edwards,  General,  195. 

Filipino-American  War,  be- 
ginning of,  55,  87,  95  ;  length 
of,  12G ;  tortures  practised 
during,  127. 

Filipino  capacity  for  self-gov- 
ernment, attitude  of  Amer- 


ican employees  towards, 
153-157;  Barrett  on,  159; 
Dewey  on,  47,  158;  McDill 
on,  108-170 ;  McKinley  on, 
328,  329;  Merritt  on,  158; 
Moses,  Prof.,  on,  161 ; 
Quezon  on,  184-186 ;  Roose- 
velt on,  113,  175 ;  Sargent 
on,  158;  Shafroth  on,  229, 
230;  Shuster  on,  156,  157; 
Taft  on,  326,  327;  Wilcox 
on,  158 ;  Worcester  on,  161- 
173.  {See  also  Independ- 
ence for  the  Phils.) 

Fils.,  desire  of,  for  independ- 
ence, 180-183,  189,  190,  220. 
239,  348-351. 

Fils.  not  a  free  people,  187, 
188. 

Forbes,  W.  Cameron,  152,  194, 
335. 

Foreman,  John,  31. 

Friar  land  question,   193-195. 

Frye,  William  P.,  27,  37. 

Gray,  Senator,  27,  31-34,  37. 
Greene,  General,  30,  70. 

Harcourt  v.  Gaillard,  75. 

Harrison,  Francis  Burton,  ap- 
pointment of,  as  Governor- 
General,  196 ;  attacks  on, 
201-203;  inaugural  address 
of,  196-199  ;  policy  of,  in  the 
Phils.,  201-203. 

Hay,  Secretary,  34. 

Henderson,  Congressman,  106. 

Hepburn,  Congressman,  106. 

Ilill,  Congressman,  140. 

Hitchcock,  Gilbert  M.,  221, 
222,  234,  243;  amendments 
of,  to  the  Jones  Bill,  219. 

Hoar,    Senator,    134;    on   at- 


INDEX 


357 


tempts  to  annex  Cuba,  10; 
on  Bryan's  Phil,  policy,  52, 
108;  interest  of,  in  Phils., 
103,  104 ;  plan  of,  to  free  the 
Phils.,  110,  111 ;  retrospect 
of,  on  Filipino-American  re- 
lations, 120-125 ;  on  Spanish- 
American  war,  9 ;  on  subju- 
gation of  Fils.,  59  ;  on  treaty 
of  Paris,  44,  57,  89. 
Hobart,  Vice-President,  59. 

Imperialism,  American,  begin- 
nings of,  20-41 ;  Beveridge 
on,  21;  Bryan  on,  IIG; 
Bryce  on,  119;  decline  of, 
119,  128-130;  foreign  views 
on,  117,  118,  125,  120;  Hoar 
on,  120-125;  Lodge  on,  52- 
55,  105,  114,  115;  McKin- 
ley  on,  29,  30 ;  paramount 
issue  of,  98-118.  (-See  also 
Independence  for  the  Phils.) 

Independence  for  the  Phils., 
American  attitude  towards, 
190-192,  202,  203,  209,  222; 
Anti-Imperialist  attitude  to- 
wards, 102-105 ;  Borah  on, 
235  ;  Bryan  on,  108,  110,  117  ; 
campaign  against,  147-173, 
191,  192,  240,  241 ;  Clapp  on, 
233 ;  Democratic  party  on, 
98,  104,  107-110,  195,  337- 
339 ;  effect  of  cessatiou  of 
agitation  for,  235-237;  Fili- 
pino petitions  for,  180-183, 
220,  239,  348-351 ;  Hoar  on, 
110,  111,  120-125;  Lewis  on, 
232  ;  Lippitt  on,  234  ;  Lodge 
on,  235;  McKinley  on,  147, 
149,  322,  323 ;  Mann  on,  213, 
214 ;  military  preparedness 
and,  231,  232;  Quezon  on, 


178,  179,  187-190,  214,  215; 
reluctance    of    Congress    to 
declare  a   policy  of,   42-GO, 
120-125,   134-144,   237,   238 
Republican    party     on,    96. 
lOi-107,     113-115,     148-150, 
210;     Robinson     on,     233 
Roosevelt  on,   149,  329-330 
335,  33G ;  Root  on,  148,  235 
Sutherland  on,  234 ;  Taft  on 
193,  323,  324,  330,  335 ;  Wil 
son   on,    195,   190,   197,   223, 
340-347.     (See    also    Jones 
Bill.) 

Jefferson,  Thomas,  73,  75, 

Jewett,  Colonel,  30. 

Jones  Bill,  introduction  of,  in 
G3rd  Congress,  204;  pream- 
ble to,  204,  205;  legislative 
provisions  of,  204-200;  Fili- 
pino attitude  towards,  200- 
209,  241 ;  discussion  and  pas- 
sage of,  in  the  House,  209- 
210;  defeat  of,  in  the  Sen- 
ate, 210-218;  reintroduction 
of,  in  the  04th  Congress, 
219 ;  discussion  and  passage 
of,  in  the  Senate,  221-235; 
Clarke  Amendment  to,  224, 
225. 

Jones,  Congressman  W.  A., 
134  ;  early  independence  bills 
of,   130-139,  238. 

Kenyon,  Senator,  225. 

Landis,  Congressman,  140. 
Letaue,  J.  H.,  22,  23. 
Lewis,  Senator,  232. 
Lincoln,  188. 

Literacy  among  the  Fils.,  184. 
Lodge,  H.  C,  50,  132,  235 ;  on 


358 


INDEX 


treaty  of  Paris,  52-55;  on 
Imperialism,  105,  114,  115. 
Lopez,  Sixto,  62,  78,  100. 

McDill,  Jolin  R.,  168-170. 

McKinley,  President,  45 ;  abso- 
lute power  of,  over  the 
Phils.,  93 ;  Aguinaldo's  letter 
to,  68;  "benevolent  assimi- 
lation "  proclamation  of,  49, 
82-87;  claim  of,  as  to  sov- 
ereignty over  the  Phils.,  36, 
82;  on  commercial  oppor- 
tunities of  the  Phils.,  29,  30 ; 
demands  cession  of  all  is- 
lands, 34 ;  on  exploitation  of 
Phils.,  94;  on  Filipino  re- 
sistance to  American  rule, 
95,  97,  175;  hesitation  of, 
to  take  the  Phils.,  26,  36 ;  on 
human  rights,  25 ;  instruc- 
tions of,  to  military  com- 
manders, 83,  84 ;  to  peace 
commissioners,  27-30,  38, 
39 ;  to  Schurman  Commis- 
sion, 87,  88;  to  Taft  Com- 
mission, 94,  260-271 ;  on  pro- 
tectorate over  the  Phils., 
112  ;  protests  to  Spain  of,  for 
Cuban  atrocities,  5;  Span- 
ish minister's  letter  re,  6; 
suggests  intervention  in 
Cuba,  5,  7 ;  utterances  of,  on 
American  policy  towards  the 
Phils.,  147,  322,  323;  west- 
ern  trip   of,   42, 

McLaurin,  Senator,  48. 

Mabini,  Apolinario,  on  Fili- 
pino resistance  to  American 
rule,  79;  suggestion  of,  for 
cessation  of  hostilities,  80, 
81. 

MacArthur,  General,  127. 


Maine,  blowing  up  of,  6. 

Manifesto  of  Fils.,  67,  68. 

Mann,  James  R.,  on  independ- 
ence, 213,  214. 

Marshall,  Vice-President,  226. 

Martin,  Congressman,  193. 

Mason,  Senator,  44,  47. 

Merritt,  General,  30. 

Miles,  Nelson  A.,  on  cruelties 
of  Phil,  campaign,  127,  128. 

Moses,  Prof.,  161. 

Ocampo,  Pablo,  177. 

Organic  Act,  debate  on,  134r- 
144;  full  text  of,  272-321; 
House  minority  substitute 
to,  136-140;  influence  of 
Rizal's  poem  on  passage  of, 
143,  144;  opposition  to  As- 
sembly provision  of,  132- 
146 ;  Senate  minority  substi- 
tute to,  134-136. 

Osmena,  Sergio,  182,  183. 

Otis,  General,  on  "  benevolent 
assimilation  "  proclamation, 
86. 

Palma,  Rafael,  176. 

Palma,  President  T.  E.,  corre- 
spondence of,  with  General 
Wood,  President  Roosevelt, 
and  Secretary  Root,  15-17. 

"  Paramount  issue  "  of  imperi- 
alism, 98-118. 

Paris,  Treaty  of,  commission- 
ers to,  27;  conflicting  views 
of  Commissioners  to,  31- 
34,  37,  38 ;  full  text  of,  249- 
259;  opposed  by  Fils.,  61- 
78,  174;  President  McKin- 
ley's  instructions  to  Com- 
missioners to,  27-30,  37-39; 
ratiflcation  of,  in  the  Senate, 


INDEX 


359 


43-^7;  real  meaning  of,  88, 
89,  90-93,  239. 

"  Phils,  for  Fils.,"  130. 

Phil,  independence  (see  Inde- 
pendence for  the  Phils.). 

Phil.  Republic,  grounds  for 
recognition  of,  64-78. 

Pinckney,  74,  75. 

Piatt  amendment,  12-14. 

Population  of  Phils.,  184. 

Pratt,  Consul,  66,  67;  under- 
standing of,  with  Fils.,  68, 
69. 

Preamble  to  Jones  Bill,  204, 
205,  219. 

Precursor,  El,  163-167. 

Proctor,  Senator,  6. 

Quezon,  Manuel  L.,  195 ;  on 
Filipino  capacity  and  desires 
for  independence,  180-186, 
228;  on  independence,  178, 
179,  187-190,  214,  215;  on 
Mexico  and  the  Phils.,  185; 
mission  of,  in  America,  177, 

Ralston,  Jackson  H.,  62. 

Reid,  Whitelaw,  27,  35,  38. 

"  Remember  the  Maine,"  7. 

Republican  party,  attitude  of, 
towards  the  Phils.,  98,  104- 
107,  113-115,  148-150,  210. 

Retentionists,  publicity  cam- 
paign of,  150-173,  240,  241. 

Revolution  against  Spain,  66- 
68. 

Rizal,  Jos^,  141. 

Robinson,  Senator,  233. 

Roosevelt,  on  Aguinaldo,  113 ; 
on  Filipino  people,  113,  175 ; 
on  independence,  149,  209, 
231,  236,  335,  336 ;  letter  of, 
to  President  Palma,  15 ;  on 


military  weakness  of  the 
Phils.,  231. 
Root,  on  cruelties  of  Phil. 
campaign,  127,  128;  on  in- 
dependence, 148,  235;  letter 
of,  to  President  Palma,  17; 
on  Piatt  amendment,  13 ;  on 
treaty  of  Paris,  88,  89,  92. 

Sagasta,  5. 

Sargent,  Leonard,  158. 
Schurman,  J.  G.,  87. 
Schurz,  Carl,  101,  120. 
Self-government,  capacity  for. 

(See  Fils.,  capacity  of,  for 

self-government. ) 
Shafroth,  Senator,  99,  229-231. 
Shuster,  W.  M.,  156,  157. 
Smith,  Edwin  B.,  90-93,  100. 
Spooner  amendment,  95. 
Spooner,  Senator,  132. 
Sutherland,  Senator,  234. 

Taft,  W.  H.,  on  establishment 
of  Phil.  Assembly,  131-133; 
views  of,  on  Phil,  question, 
146,  149,  150,  193,  199-201, 
211,  236,  323-326,  328,  330- 
335;  work  of,  in  the  Phils., 
130,   131,   152. 

Teller,  Senator,  8,  44, 

Tolman,  A.  H.,  85,  86. 

Turner,  Senator,  52. 

Vanderlip,  23,  24. 

Vest,    Senator,    resolution   of, 

44. 
Villamor,  Ignacio,  194. 

Watson,  Congressman,  140. 
Webster,  Daniel,  187. 
Wellington,  Senator,  134. 
Weyler,  General,  4,  5,  6. 


360 


INDEX 


White,  Senator,  48. 

Wilcox,  158. 

Williams,  Consul,  66. 

Williams,  John  S.,  18,  134,  137. 

Wilson,  President,  187,  238, 
242 ;  attitude  of,  towards  the 
Phils.,  195-197,  242,  340- 
347;  policy  of,  contrasted 
with  Taft's,  199-201. 


Wood,  General,  11,  15. 

Wooley,  Monroe,  173. 

Worcester,  Dean  C,  194,  202, 
211 ;  Filipino  attitude  to- 
wards, 102-173 ;  protest  of 
Cebu  against,  102-167;  pub- 
licity campaign  of,  161- 
173. 


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